Page 29 - Global Freemasonry

Harun Yahya (Adnan Oktar)

Freemasons," it states that "the rituals of the initia-
tion ceremony of the Order of Templars are similar
9
to those of present-day Freemasonry." According
to the same article, as in Masonry, the members of
the Order of the Templars called each other
10
"brother." Towards the end of the article, we read:
The Order of the Templars and the Masonic or-
ganization have influenced each other to a no-
ticeable extent. Even the rituals of the
corporations are so similar as to have been
copied from the Templars. In this respect, Ma-
The magazine Mimar Sinan,
sons have to a great extent identified themselves a private Turkish Masonic
with the Templars and it can be said that what is publication intended for its
own members.
viewed as original Masonic esoterism (secrecy)
is to an important extent an inheritance from the Templars. To summa-
rize, as we said in the title of this essay, we can say that the starting point
of Freemasonry's royal art and initiatic-esoteric line belonged to Tem-
plars and its end-point belonged to Freemasons. 11
Finally, we say, it is clear that the roots of Freemasonry stretch back

to the Order of Templars, and that the Masons have adopted the philoso-
phy of this order. Masons themselves accept this. But certainly, the impor-
tant matter for our consideration is the nature of this philosophy. Why did
the Templars abandon Christianity and become a heretical order? What
led them to this? Why did they undergo such a change in Jerusalem?
Through the agency of Masonry, what has been the effect on the world of
this philosophy adopted by the Templars?

THE TEMPLARS AND THE KABBALAH
A book written by two Masons, Christopher Knight and Robert
Lomas, entitled The Hiram Key reveals some important facts about the
roots of Freemasonry. According to these authors, it is evident that Ma-

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