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The history of Freemasonry in Turkey stretches back to the 18th century under Ottoman imperial rule.
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The history of Freemasonry in Turkey stretches back to the 18th century under Ottoman imperial rule.
The first lodge in Turkey was probably established around 1721 in Istanbul by Levantines. [1] [2]
In 1748, Sultan Mahmud I outlawed Freemasonry in the Ottoman Empire and since that time Freemasonry was equated with atheism in the Ottoman Empire and the broader Islamic world. [3]
Freemasonry was legalised as a part of the Ottoman reforms in the 19th century. [4]
Although Freemasonry in Turkey can be traced into the 18th century, for much of that time it was limited to lodges under the jurisdiction of foreign grand lodges, and there was no independent Turkish Grand Lodge probably due to illegality. This changed in 1856, when after it was legalised the first Turkish Grand Lodge was established. Sultan Murad V was a member of the lodge, becoming the first and only Ottoman sultan to join. Masonic organizations were among the most important organizations active from 1875 to 1908. [5]
The Grand Lodge came back in 1909 in Istanbul under a new administration. Because the Grand Lodge was used to operate in secret, it was banned in 1922, only to be re-established in 1925. In 1935, all Masonic lodges were banned on the ground that Masonic principles are incompatible with nationalistic policy. [6] As a result of the repeated closures, the former Grand Lodge and its members were reluctant to support President Kemal Atatürk's reformist policies.
In 1956, the Grand Lodge of Turkey was re-established in its current form and, together with the light introduction in 1962, recognition was granted by the Grand Lodges of New York and Scotland. In 1970, the Turkish Grand Lodge was recognized by the United Grand Lodge of England and the Grand Lodge of Ireland as a regular lodge.
In 1964, after Süleyman Demirel wrote a public letter declaring that he was not a Freemason in order to win the nomination of the presidency of the Justice Party, a split occurred within the ranks of the Grand Lodge, resulting in the 1966 creation of the Grand Lodge of Liberal Freemasons of Turkey, which is a Continental-oriented body recognized by the Grand Orient de France, but not by the United Grand Lodge of England.
The history of Freemasonry in Turkey has also included the furthering of conspiracy theories by Islamists such as Adnan Oktar [7] [8] as well as Necmettin Erbakan and his movement Millî Görüş.
There are several Grand Lodges and Grand Orients currently operating in Turkey.
The Grand Lodge of Turkey (Turkish : Hür ve Kabul Edilmiş Masonlar Büyük Locası) is the largest Masonic Grand Lodge in Turkey, labouring in the three symbolic degrees of ancient Freemasonry. It was established in 1909 and consists of over 250 Lodges in 10 cities around Turkey; including 5 English speaking, 3 French speaking, 1 German speaking and 1 Greek speaking Lodges. As of 2020, it has around 17.000 members. Being in amity with 158 Grand Lodges around the world, the body is the sole representative of regular Freemasonry in Turkey.
As a single-ritual jurisdiction, the Lodges on the roll of the Grand Lodge of Turkey uses the Turkish Ritual with stems from modern ritual of Scotland, as well as French and Schröder rituals. Almost all Turkish Lodges meet on a bi-weekly basis. With the exception of Lodges situated at the Aegean and Mediterranean coastal towns, two to three months summer recess is customary.
The Grand Lodge of Freemasons of Turkey (Turkish: Özgür Masonlar Büyük Locası) was established in 1966 after a split from the Grand Lodge and follows the Continental Style of Freemasonry. [9]
Freemasonry, sometimes spelled Free-Masonry or simply Masonry from 'freestone mason', includes various fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 14th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities and clients. Freemasonry is the oldest fraternity in the world and among the oldest continued organizations in history.
The history of Freemasonry encompasses the origins, evolution and defining events of the fraternal organisation known as Freemasonry. It covers three phases. Firstly, the emergence of organised lodges of operative masons during the Middle Ages, then the admission of lay members as "accepted" or "speculative" masons, and finally the evolution of purely speculative lodges, and the emergence of Grand Lodges to govern them. The watershed in this process is generally taken to be the formation of the first Grand Lodge in London in 1717. The two difficulties facing historians are the paucity of written material, even down to the 19th century, and the misinformation generated by masons and non-masons alike from the earliest years.
In Freemasonry, regularity is one of the factors by which individual Grand Lodges judge whether to recognise one another for the purposes of allowing formal interaction at the Grand Lodge level and visitation by members of other jurisdictions. Each individual Grand Lodge determines which other Grand Lodges it considers Regular.
Hundreds of conspiracy theories about Freemasonry have been described since the late 18th century. Usually, these theories fall into three distinct categories: political, religious, and cultural. Many conspiracy theories have connected the Freemasons with worship of the devil; these ideas are based on different interpretations of the doctrines of those organizations.
Adnan Oktar, also known as Adnan Hoca or Harun Yahya, is a Turkish Islamic televangelist and cult leader.
The Grand Orient de France (GODF) is the oldest and largest of several Freemasonic organizations based in France and is the oldest in Continental Europe. The Grand Orient de France is generally regarded as the "mother lodge" of Continental Freemasonry.
Anti-Masonry is "avowed opposition to Freemasonry", which has led to multiple forms of religious discrimination, violent persecution, and suppression in some countries as well as in various organized religions. However, there is no homogeneous anti-Masonic movement. Anti-Masonry consists of radically differing criticisms from frequently incompatible political institutions and organized religions that oppose each other, and are hostile to Freemasonry in some form.
Co-Freemasonry is a form of Freemasonry which admits both men and women. It began in France in the 1890s with the forming of Le Droit Humain, and is now an international movement represented by several Co-Freemasonic administrations throughout the world. Most male-only Masonic Lodges do not recognise Co-Freemasonry, holding it to be irregular.
While many Christian denominations either allow or take no stance on their members joining Freemasonry, others discourage or prohibit their members from joining the fraternity.
This is a general survey on the historical and modern presence of Freemasonry in countries located in Asia.
Freemasonry has had a complex relationship with women for centuries. A few women were involved in Freemasonry before the 18th century, despite de jure prohibitions in the Premier Grand Lodge of England.
Freemasonry in Denmark was first established in 1743 and is today represented by a number of Grand Lodges. The oldest and biggest Masonic Grand Lodge in Denmark is the Danish Order of Freemasons, in English also known as the Grand Lodge of Denmark.
Continental Freemasonry, otherwise known as Liberal Freemasonry, Latin Freemasonry, and Adogmatic Freemasonry, includes the Masonic lodges, primarily on the European continent, that recognize the Grand Orient de France (GOdF) or belong to CLIPSAS, SIMPA, CIMAS, COMAM, CATENA, GLUA, or any of various other international organizations of Liberal, i.e., Continental Freemasonry. The larger number of Freemasons, most of whom live in the United States–where Regular Freemasonry holds a virtual monopoly–belong to Masonic lodges that recognize the United Grand Lodge of England and do not recognize Continental Freemasons, regarding them as "irregular".
Masonic ritual is the scripted words and actions that are spoken or performed during the degree work in a Masonic lodge. Masonic symbolism is that which is used to illustrate the principles which Freemasonry espouses. Masonic ritual has appeared in a number of contexts within literature including in "The Man Who Would Be King", by Rudyard Kipling, and War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy.
The Grand Orient of Poland is a Masonic grand lodge in Poland. It is a member of the European Masonic Association (EMA/AME), in the continental or liberal branch of Freemasonry.
Freemasonry in Spain is first recorded in 1728, in an English lodge. As various papal bulls condemned Freemasonry the Spanish Inquisition did their best to close lodges and demonise Freemasons, therefore the success of Freemasonry from year to year depended on the sympathy or antipathy of the ruling regime. Nevertheless, lodges and even Grand Lodges were formed, and even thrived during more liberal periods. When Francisco Franco consolidated power in 1939, all Freemasonry was banned. In 1979, four years after Franco's death, bans on Freemasonry were declared unconstitutional, and several Grand Lodges and Orients now flourish in Spain.
Freemasonry in Italy dates to the first half of the eighteenth century. Its success largely depended on the lack of enthusiasm with which Papal bans on the order were enforced in the various states. After the end of the Napoleonic regime, Freemasonry was suppressed in most of the peninsula. The start of the unification process in 1859 saw a revival in Freemasonry. Giuseppe Garibaldi, a leader of Italian unification, was an active Mason and a keen supporter of the craft. In the 1920s, Freemasonry was again suppressed under Italian fascism but revived again after the fall of Benito Mussolini. Into the 21st century, Italy contains a wide variety of Masonic observances, regular, liberal, male, female and mixed.
Freemasonry in Scotland in lodges chartered by the Grand Lodge of Scotland comprises the Scottish Masonic Constitution as regular Masonic jurisdiction for the majority of freemasons in Scotland. There are also lodges operating under the Scottish Masonic Constitution in countries outside of Scotland. Many of these are countries linked to Scotland and the United Kingdom through the Commonwealth of Nations and prior colonies and other settlements of the British Empire although there are several lodges in countries such as Lebanon, Belgium, Chile and Peru, which do not have such connections.
Conspiracy theories are a prevalent feature of culture and politics in Turkey. Conspiracism is an important phenomenon in understanding Turkish politics. This is explained by a desire to "make up for lost Ottoman grandeur", the humiliation of perceiving Turkey as part of "the malfunctioning half" of the world, and a "low level of media literacy among the Turkish population."
