Secret Sects Of SyriaRoutledge, 2014 M01 21 - 352 pages First published in 2007. Secret sects are deeply rooted in the history and culture of the Middle East, and a number of them are as powerful now as they were in the times of the Crusades. In the West, the best-known organisation with connections to these ancient sects are the Freemasons, whose rituals are believed to derive from those originally practiced by the Knights Templar in the East, and later brought by them to Europe. In this classic work, Bernard Sprigett describes and analyses the symbolism, ceremonies and beliefs of these secret sects including the Sabaeans, the Gnostics and Manicheans, the followers of Simon Magus, Sufism and the Dervish Orders, the Shiite Metawileh, the Essenes, the Ismaelis, the Assassins and the Druses, and their links with and influence upon the Knights Templar and modern Freemasonry. Springett demonstrates the persistence of ancient symbolic and ritual elements in modern life and gives insight into the creeds and practices of secret sects that are active today in the Middle East and beyond. |
Contents
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21 | |
III The Antiquity of the People of the Lebanon | 34 |
IV The Sabeans Worshippers of the Pole Star | 43 |
V The Gnostics and the Manicheans | 52 |
The Ophites Basilideans and Followers of Simon Magus | 61 |
Sufeism and the Dervish Orders | 68 |
VIII Initiation Rites Among the Dervishes | 75 |
XVIII Religious Festivals of the Nusairis | 165 |
XIX Fundamental Principles and Deeper Mysteries of the Nusairi Religion | 175 |
XX The House of Wisdom at Cairo and the Founding of the Druse Sect by El Dorazi and Hamzeh | 180 |
XXI The Religion of the Druses | 188 |
XXII Religious Ceremonies of the Druses | 198 |
XXIII Religious Creed of the Druses | 208 |
XXIV Resemblance of the Druse Religion to Thibetan Lamaism | 234 |
XXV The Relation of the Druses to Freemasonry | 248 |
The Metawileh | 83 |
X The Sect of the Essenes and Their Tenets | 89 |
XI Pythagoras and His System | 98 |
Origin of the Assassins | 107 |
XIII The Assassins | 116 |
XIV The Mohammedan Creed From an Original Arabic Confession of Faith | 123 |
XV The First Four Caliphs and the Twelve Imaums | 133 |
XVI The Religious System of the Nusairis | 140 |
XVII The Religious System of the Nusairiscontinued | 154 |
XXVI The Yezidis or DevilWorshippers | 259 |
XXVII Modern Arabian Freemasonry | 270 |
XXVIII Syrian Influences on Modern Freemasonry | 275 |
XXIX Syrian Influences on the Order of Knights Templar and the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite | 288 |
Bibliography | 297 |
Appendix | 301 |
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Common terms and phrases
according Adam Akkal Ali-Ibn-Abu-Talib Almighty amongst ancient angels appeared Arab Bektashi believe body brethren Caliph called candidate ceremonies Chaldean chapter chief Christian created Creator creed degree Deity Dervish disciples divine doctrines Druids Druses earth East Egypt Egyptian Enoch Essenes existence faith father festival Freemasonry Freemasons Gnostics Hakem Hamzeh hand heaven Hivites holy Imaum initiation Irenæus Ismaeli Jesus Kabalistic Kaem Khalwehs Knights Templar knowledge Koran Lebanon light Lodge London Lord Madam Blavatsky Magian Manicheans manifested Masonic Masonry Mind Mohammed Mohammedan Moses Moslems mountains Muhdi Mysteries mystic Nusairis Ophites Order origin paradise Persian Phoenician pillars Pole Star prayer priests principles prophet Pursuivant Pythagoras race religion religious rites ritual Sabeans sacred says Schiites secret sect seven Sheikh Shutneel Solomon's Temple soul spirit Sunnites symbol Syria Templars Temple thee thou tradition Truth Unitarians Unity Wisdom words worship Yezidis