The Bektashi Begat the Shriners? https://aftermathnews.wordpress.com/2008/12/31/the-bektashi-begat-the-sh...
Posted on December 31, 2008 | Leave a comment
“[The Bektashi] are even said to be affiliated to some of the French Masonic Lodges. One thing is certain; the order now consists almost exclusively of gentlemen of education, belonging to the Liberal, or Young Turk party.”
– Richard Davey, The Sultan and His Subjects [1897] (Gorgias Press LLC, 2001), p. 65.
Conspiracy Archive | Dec 23, 2008
fleming_florence_shrinerI’m not that familiar with the Bektashi Order , but it turns out that this politico-mystical secret society – directly or indirectly – was the inspiration behind the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.
Freemasons Dr. Walter M. Fleming, 33°, and William J. Florence, 32°, founded the Shriners in 1870. And in recounting the origins of their Order, Florence and Fleming corroborate the above statement by Richard Davey
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http://malankazlev.com/kheper/topics/Kabbalah/Zevi_and_Bektashi.htm One thing which has not been made much mention of is the non-orthodox Bektashi praxis. In many regards, Bektashis and Alevis (I make an artificial distinction) are regarded as beyond the limits of acceptible Muslim behavior.
For example, as I have mentioned, Hazrat Ali Ibne Abe Talib the successor and legati (wasi) of Prophet Muhammad is regarded as a Divine being personage, even an incarnation or Manifestation, of Allah.
Second is the regard the Alevi-Bektashi regard the Babas or Dedes who are considered Insan e Kamil, that is Perfect Man. The Insan e Kamil is the perfect representative of Allah on Earth and more emphasis is placed on the instruction and example of the Baba than upon the texts and laws.
Regarding prayer, many Alevi-Bektashis do not follow the prescribed sunnah of 5 daily prayers, preferring instead to offer their prayers privately or at Cem, the gathering of the Alevi.
Fasting during Ramezan is not adhered to, instead fasting in the month of Muharram, especially in the day of Ashura (10 Muharram), is employed in honor of the Martyrdom of the Imam Husayn.
Alcohol can be and is used by many Alevi Bektashis and is not regarded as sinful unlike the majority of the sunnah belief.
Male and female equality is emphasized.
Men and women practice together in the Cem and in Zikrullah (the gathering for Zikr)
Pilgrimage or Hajj to Mecca is substituted with pilgrimage to shrines of sufi saints or visits to living Babas or Dedes.
In many ways the Bektashi-Alevis are considered antinomian by the sunni majority, so in many ways it is interesting that Sabbatai Tzvi chose to affiliate with the Bektashi rather than the other Sufi orders of Anatolia.
I alluded that this affiliation may be subject to hermeneutic interpretation, since many of Sabbatai Tzvi's actions are given to such interpretation.
Scholem gives only a passing reference to this in his magnum opus, however, this behavior after the holy apostasy seems to speak volumes (at least to me) regarding AMIRAH's approach to Islam and Sufism.
Note: Most of this is based on personal discussions that I have had with Alevis and Bektashi Sufis, as such it is anecdotal. For the more academically rigorous, I refer these two books:
Schindeldecker, John "Turkish Alevis Today" (Istanbul: Sakhulu Sultan Kulliyesi Vakfi) 1998. ISBN 975-94-441-0-0
Moosa, Matti "Extremist Shiites" (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press) 1988 ISBN 0-8156-2411-5.
Schindeldecker may be hard to find in the US, but it is in English. Moosa can be obtained from Amazon.com.
Ya Ali Madad Ali Duran
Ibrahim al-Qa'im (Professor Avraham Elqayam) adds:
Some aspects of the relations between Sabbatai Sevi and the Bektashi order were discussed some months ago in my own posts and chaver Evgueny Tortchinov's posts.
As for books, I'd like to add some more choice of reading material to the chaverim interested in the Bektashi order. Those of the chaverim who can read French, are referred to a recent title by an imminent French scholar, the most up-to-date research work that I know of: Melikoff, I., Hadji Bektach: un mythe et ses avatars. Genese et evolution du soufisme populaire en Turquie, Leiden 1998.
Those interested in various Bektashiya aspects, can try this title: Kehl-Bodrogi, K., Kellner-Heinkele, B. & Otter-Beaujean, A. (Eds.), Syncretistic Religious Communities in the Near East: Collected Papers of the International Symposium "Alevism in Turkey and Comparable Syncretistic Religious Communities in the Near East in the past and Present", Leiden 1997.