THE

USE AND MISUSE OF THE NAME IN

BEKTASHI

WESTERN

CONTEXT:
The Case of the Thule Society, the Shriners, & the Dawoodi-Bektashis

Muhammed al-Ahari Magribine Press

Published by the Magribine Press 5333 W. Rosedale Ave. Chicago, IL 60646-6539 Send all Correspondence Attn: Muhammed al-Ahari 2006 Magribine Press

First Edition All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Copyright 2006 by Magribine Press Cover design & book layout: Muhammed Abdullah al-Ahari

This book was originally presented at THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON ALEVISM & BEKTASHISM 28-30 September 2005 / sparta Turkey Sleyman Demirel University Faculty of Theology

Introduction
In the West, there has been an enduring tendency to regard belonging to secret societies as a means of social ascent and self-aggrandizement. The more secretive and strange the ritual and history of a given secret order, the longer the line to join will become. The most primitive of these orders included Instructive Masonry which purportedly traced its origins to ancient Greece and Egypt. The libraries of these orders and their rituals were claimed to have derived from clandestine Moroccan (in the case of the Rosicrucians), Persian (for the Grotto), and Arabian or Egyptian (for the Shriners) mystic orders. In the 19th century we have the European discovery of Tibet and the ensuing legends about the mythical kingdom of Shambala (as well as all its secreted esoteric knowledge), the lost tribes of the Caucasus Mountains, the Order of the Peacock, and science of 3

Theosophy.

Truth

explorers

were

allegedly able to find hidden away guides and guarded texts which purportedly reveal the realities of the universe. The famed Madame Blavatsky gave us the Stanzas of Dzyan, Richard Burton the Qasidas of Abu Yazid, as well as the ritual books of the Grotto and the Shriners secret societies. Yet none of these texts have any ancient manuscript in existence, leading one to assume their complete and utter forgery. My motivation for writing this short expos are several; the foremost being a wish to distance the noble Bektashi Order of Sufis from individuals and groups who have indefensibly utilized the name Bektashi in their organizations without any solid rationalization, an occurrence that has caused a significant amount of confusion among inquisitive minds. Since the 19th century a number of individuals who have sought out the genuine path of Haji Bektash and that of the Bektashis 4

have

been

led

to not

things

that

are and,

unquestionably

Bektashism

despite such claims, have no origin in Bektashism at all. Historically, these first purported links to Islamic mysticism (out of which the Bektashi Sufism) came from Freemasonry and its root, the Knight Templar.

The Knight Templar: The Origins of Freemasonry

The Knights Templar was a military order founded in Palestine in 1119 CE at the height of the Crusades by a group of nine warriors who had sought out The spiritual glory and worldly fortune.

King of Jerusalem -- Baldwin II (reign 1118-31) -- gave them quarters in his palace which was purportedly on the site of Solomons Temple (thus the name Templar). The Knights Templar took vows of poverty, chastity, as well as obedience to none save the Grand Master of the Order 5

(the first was Hugh du Paynes).

The

knights were divided into four ranks: knights, chaplains, squires, and servants. The knights wore a white mantle with a red cross, while the lower grades wore a black or brown mantle. exceedingly wealthy. Other militant Christian orders grew jealous of wealth and prestige of The Knights Templar. A number, such as the Hospitallers, gained the ear of the French king and the Pope. When the city of Acre fell to the Mamluks in 1291 CE and the of of began various being Christian associates orders of the withdrew to Cyprus, the Templars were accused heresy France Ismailis (Assassins) and of espousing the Unitarianism to (absolute their monotheism). In 1307 CE, Philip IV of confiscate They grew rapidly (from 9 to 30,000) and became

properties with the approval of the Pope who issued a bull which dissolved the order in 1312 CE. 6

The last Grand Master, Jacques de Molay, was burned to death in 1314 CE along with several of his closest followers in the courtyard of Notre Dame Cathedral. Contemporary researchers

see the persecution of the Templars as a horrific and fanatical distortion of justice. Outside of France, the Templars were generally cleared of the charges of blasphemy and were given time to go underground. Such was the case of community in the British Isles. Sixty years after their suppression, The Knights Templar awoke in a so-called peasant revolt against the English Crown. The eight day revolt was lead by Walter the Tyler (a Masonic title) and the sources of leadership of that brief revolt were not traced to the Templars at that time [Robinson, xii]. against intruders. person. 7 In Masonry, a Tyler guards the door of the lodge Surely a suppressed military order would be in need of such a

While

there

is

no

clear

documentation that The Knight Templars framed their hierarchical structure upon the one developed by the Ismailis of Alamut, there is evidence that the Templars and Assassins, at times, joined together in common cause. For instance the Templars wished to have the city of Tyre and would have traded Damascus for it. At one time the King of Jerusalem came under the intrigues of both the Templars and the Assassins. The Assassins had been paying tribute to the Templars and sent a message to the King of Jerusalem that they would convert en masse to Christianity if the tribute were lifted. Instead the Templars ambushed the King of Jerusalem's envoy to the Assassins and brutally murdered him. The relationship between the Templers Grand Master and the Assassins was close enough that he likely knew of the whole affair. [Waite, 50]

After their long association with the Middle East, the Templars had naturally become tinted by its lore, theosophy, and obscure rituals. These were the charges brought against them when they were under direction of De Moley. Charges of heresy, urinating on crosses, homo-erotic unions, and devil worship were all forthcoming. [MacKinzie, 125-143]

Nevertheless, the main sacrilege the Templars were accused of their denial of the Trinity. Further charges of witchcraft and the worship of an idol called Baphomat were added to make their persecution seem rational. These supposed heretics escaped whenever the chance arose. an organization prepared to under these circumstances. They had operate Except in

France, where they were victims of a thoroughgoing inquisition, the Templars were able to go underground and become mercenaries, shopkeepers,

clergymen, and members of trade guilds. 9

They carried with them the ability to survive, if given chance, and escape the inquisitors association flame. with The the decades workings of of

Byzantine politics, the secret rituals of the Assassins, and the intrigues within Muslim courts, all of which they observed on battlefields and at conference tables, prepared them for a life of duplicity and secretiveness. The church, with it bloodspattered rejection of protest and social change, provided the Templars with many willing sympathizers. The secrecy much needed in those days is still part of the Masonic ritual at present. A candidate must be able to keep secrets, be sound body, and not senile or mentally deficient. A suppressed military order would have to keep such rules in order to survive underground persecution. To enter the ranks of the Masons, the candidate must be recommended, 10 and not suffer further

then interviewed and put through a ritual that ensures he is searching for and knowledge, self-improvement,

community service. The candidate strips to his trousers and undershirt, removes all coins from his clothes, bares his left arm and breast, and rolls one pant leg to the knee. He then is cable-towed and hood-winked. After being lead past the Tyler, the Worshipful Master reminds the candidate of the punishments in store for anyone revealing the secrets of the lodge. The punishments were the same handed out to the Knight Templars during their persecution. When the Worshipful Master has questioned the candidate and heard the correct answers, the hood is removed as a result of the candidates answering the question What are you searching for? with the word, Light. this, the candidate is Upon uttering taught the

passwords and signs of his degree and is invested with a white woolen apron -- a 11

connection, perhaps, to Sufa [wool] and Sufism? After Apprentice being for made a an Entered time, the short

candidate can rise in the Masonic ranks to be a Fellowcraft or Journeyman. Originally this was the highest rank and a Master was selected from them. This is also true of the Bektashi Sufi Order. Only later did the 3rd degree of Master Mason develop [Mackenzie, 211]. The ritual is similar to that of the Entered Apprentice, but the lecture differs. Candidates at this level are lead to a Middle Chamber and given a lecture on the heavenly and earthly geometry (knowledge attributed to Solomon, but likely through Arabic sources). There he is told the three degrees are symbolic of life: youth (Entered The of Apprentice), lecture which then the maturation (Fellowcraft), and old age (Master discusses Mason). numerology

number seven is stressed (7 liberal arts, 12

7 heavens, 7 years to build Solomon's Temple, 7 wonders of the world, etc.). This number is most important in the Ismaili worldview and the Masons (formerly the Knight Templars) perhaps gained its air of importance from them [Mackenzie, 214]. The Master Mason homily deals with the murder of Solomons architect Hiram Abiff by the three Juwes (Jubelo, Jubela, Jubelum). These names are only the masculine, feminine and neuter for of the noun Jubes He who is punished. Hirams body is discarded by the This given murderers when the failed to get him to tell them the Master Password. substitute instead. word Mahabone is word is called the lost key to Masonry. A This word also shows were In French Bon

some Templars hid.

Mahania is the name of the port from which the Barbary pirates sailed when they attacked merchant ships in the Mediterranean. 13

In the ritual the candidate plays Hiram Abiff. Hiram Abiff is the Anglicized version of Hiram Biffe Hiram who was eliminated. The candidate is unwrapped and raised to the level of brotherhood (foot to foot, knee to knee, breast to breast, hand to back, mouth to ear) by a Masonic grip called the lions paw. This only occurs after he has heard that the three Juwes were being put to death in the manner that they described in oaths were they admitted oaths during their are their wrongs. the Knight Again, these

reminiscent of the punishments dealt to Templars persecution. The complete ritual is found in many works on Freemasonry. About the lodge itself more should be said. The lodge refers not to a The floor of the meeting place, but a safe house for a member of the order. key. lodge, a black and mosaic, is the final It is a repetition of a black block The black above a white block below. 14

symbolizes the black world left behind by the order, the white the world of knightly purity they entered. The gloves are from the Templars also due to their wearing of gloves to keep their hands pure to receive communion. The travel to the East is but a remembrance of the path the Knights went to fight in the Crusades. As the Templars prayed in round churches so no one was able to be in a position of higher rank, a compass was retained and became part of the Masonic legend of their being an ancient order of freethinkers and mathematicians. The G for Geometry comes from Masons being responsible for rebuilding London after the Great Fire of 1666 CE. Other communities and proofs that the Masons are the direct descendants of the Knight Templars could be given but the interest reader should go to Robinsons Born in Blood and other such as: Stephen Knights The Brotherhood and The Secret Diary of Jack the Ripper for more proofs. 15

More than six hundred years have passed since the suppression of the Knight Templars, but their heritage lives on in the largest fraternal organization ever known [Freemasons]. [Robinson, xix] The direct descendants of the Knight Templars are: 1) the Pirates of Mahadiah; 2) Irish Freemasons; 3) Scottish Freemasons; and, 4) York Rite Masons. In American the first Scottish Rite Lodge was founded in Charleston S.C. by Stephen Morin in 1801 CE. Scottish Rite Masonry was first publicly promulgated in 1758 CE. patents to Stephen Morin was granted increase the number of The

degrees on August 27, 1761 CE. Grand Lodge of Perfection

was first

operated under Isaac De Costa - the Inspector General of South Carolina in 1783 CE. This lodge did not survive. In 1801 CE the lodge was reestablished with a Grand Council under Fredrick Dalcho, John Mitchell, Stephen Morin and others. The Shriners evolved out of the 16

33rd

degree

system of

Scottish

Rite

Masonry.

Freemasonry
The Masonry we know today is called Speculative Masonry. It only replaced Constructive (building or guild) Masonry very gradually. The year 1717 CE is usually marked as the start of Speculative Masonry. In 1723 CE the first book of rituals, catechisms and constitutions were issued by Anderson. Masonry is of three degrees: Apprentice, Fellowcraft and Master Mason. All other degrees are added and spurious. They did not exist at the start. One must progress in Masonry listening by to learning the catechisms,

charges and study. At each degree one learns certain grips, passwords and a series of questions and answers. Masonry is all theory now. The Craft ritual were destroyed in 1717 CE and replaced by new rituals such as Anderson's.

17

Negro Freemasonry was started by a West claims Indian of named heresy Prince and Hall. His lodges are regular but racists put false clandestine activities on them. His rituals are nearly identical to White Freemasonry. His first lodge was Boston's Africa Lodge Number 459. (see Islam, Christianity and Free Masonry).

The Shriners
Many Muslims living in America are under the mistaken impression that members of the Shriners are fellow members of the Faith. The Encyclopedia of Freemasonry has a ten page article dealing with the Assassins that would lead one to believe in an Islamic-Shriner connection. The best source for students of the Shriners is the popular history written by Fred Van Deventer entitled Parade to Glory: The Story of the Shriners and the Hospitals for Crippled Children . 18 The

history of this Masonic order as given by the Shriners is that it was, ...established Arabia and in Mecca, an became

acknowledged power in the year 5459, equivalent to the year of our Lord 1698. Ritual was compiled The and

arranged in Aleppo, Arabia and issued by Louis Marracci, the great Latin translator Al-Koran. of The Mohammeds

mysterious Order continued to thrive in Arabia from that date to the present. It was revised and instituted in Cairo, Egypt, in 5598, equivalent to June 14, 1837. The Order was primarily instituted for the purpose of promoting Egyptian the organization to and perfection of Arabic and inquisitions, dispense justice and execute 19

punishment of criminals whom the tardy laws did not reach to measure their crimes. Being designed composed upon a to of valid embrace sterling the and entire pale of the law and determined men who would accusation the hourfearlessly try, judge and if convicted, criminal execute within the

leaving no trace of their acts behind.... [Van Deventer, 3536]. The text goes on to describe a mythical bond between their group and famous Sufis of the past. These connections with the great sages of Islam is purely farcical, and even their claim to be related to the Bektashi Order of Dervishes has to be taken with a grain of salt. The most prominent and powerful of those orders is the Bektashy, or Nobles of 20

the Mystic Shrine. Its offshoots and satellites are the Darkawy, Khowan, AbDel Kader El Baghdadi, and the Issawiye, similar in obligation and purpose. These are not altogether politico-religious societies as generally supposed by the outside world. Although ostensibly appearing as such there is a deep and hidden meaning beneath the exposed superficial exterior, as promulgated to the profane. [Van Deventer, 36]. The Shriners claim that they have a view of changing Islam to fit American circumstances is also a Shriner view as we see in the following passage, The Bektashy, or Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, as it is known in America, is of necessity divested of its inconsistent Islam dogmas and its ritual adapted to the consistencies of Christian institutions and American laws, and is destined to become a powerful order here in America. [Van Deventer, 36]

21

The Shriners go on to say that Haji Bektash was an Arab (in fact he was not an Arab, but rather a Persian) and they further tell of his blessing the famed Janissary Corp. The Shriners more accurately believe the order was called Janissaries because this means they were freed captives who were adopted into the faith and the army. In addition they believe that the Sacred Mosque in Mecca (the Harm al-Sharf) is nothing other than the Temple of Ali ibn Abi Talib and is under control of the chief officer of Alee Temple of Nobles. This, of course, is sheer fantasy. A member of the Mecca Temple of New York and the U.S. consul to Malta raised quite a furor by sending letters from the years 1882 to 1892 CE, giving alleged translations of ritual from Algiers, Tripoli, Cairo and other temples. The Arabic originals, obviously, do not exist and his pass or passport to various Islamic shrines was counterfeit. Yet for 22

his forgeries he received $500 a year from the Mecca Temple. In truth, is the Shriners were founded by a British stage actor named William J. Florence and Dr. Fleming of New York in 1870 CE. They were thirtysecond or thirty-third degree Scottish Rite Masons. concocted As shown above, they claiming initiation legends

from persons as dissimilar as the Grand Sheikh of Mecca, Sultan Selim III, the Illuminati in addition to the Bektashi Sufi Order. These claims are spurious and improvable. This did not prevent the late Mr. Duro ini, an Albanian Shriner and Bektashi from Canada, from divulging to me the supposed secret BektashiShriner connection. Although started in 1876 CE, this order was not an operating order for nearly a decade afterwards. Furthermore, Frederick von Deventer prints a letter in which Flemings son said all the Shriner legend was only in his fathers head. His 23

son did not disclose the errors in the legend, but I will do so. First off, the Bektashis were never in control of the city of Makkah; there were never Shrines in the Middle East who could, via Silsilah, trace their origin were to Imam Ali; the or Bektashis primarily Turkish

Albanian in membership, not Arab; the terminology of the Shriners shows more of a borrowing from Hebrew rather than Arabic; I could go on and on. Many who analyze Shriner ritual fail to realize what they are looking at. The language used in most cases is Hebrew. The rituals are based more on the ritual of other Masonic orders and the cult of the number 13 than any thing else. There is nothing Bektashi or even Islamic about them whatsoever, other than cosmetic appearances. Yet whatever else may be said about them, the Shriners provided a new form of heresy as a conduit of cultural transfer.

24

An

Afro-American

form

of

the

Shriners was started by a handful of 32nd Degree Prince Hall Masons at the World's Fair in 1893 CE. The organization of the order was a self-styled Arab named Rofelt Pasha. His origins are unknown and even more shrouded in mystery than later Black Muslim leaders Drew Ali and Fard Muhammad. But a name like Rofelt is hardly Arab and the man was probably nothing more than one more charlatan in Oriental garb. (see African American Freemasons: Why they should accept Islam by Mustafa El-Amin for details.)

The Grotto
An order similar in nature to the Shriners is the Persian Order, started by seventeen members of the Hamilton Lodge No. 120 in Hamilton, New York, in the summer of 1889 CE under the direction of ex-Postmaster General, Thomas L. James. Beyond its Persian 25

ritual, which tells the story of a leprosy covered Persian Prophet that wears a veil, they has a component group called the Knights of Khorrosan (the birthplace of Hajji Bektash Veli). This is the Blue Lodges playground (for Master Masons and higher ups), much like the Shrine is for the 32nd and 33rd degree Masons. The chief moving spirit in the founding of this organization was LeRoy Fairchild. At their meeting on September 10, 1889 CE, they decided to honor the founder by calling it Fairchild Deviltry Committee. When the new order grew too large for one locality, the Fairchild Deviltry Committee duly established the Supreme Council, Mystic Order of Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm on July 13, 1890 CE. It is mystic in its lessons and method of teaching. It is veiled because all secrets are known but are hidden in the impure heart and are unveiled as the heart is cleansed. The order is an enchanted realm as it is separate from 26

the world and is full of joy as sorrow burdens any unenchanted realm. The handbook of the Grotto is named Grotto Creed and Prophets Compact. It tells us the Grotto was made to encourage Masonic fraternity free of discrimination based on status in life. True fraternity should be based on lodge membership and such membership not be used for advancement of material interest. Like Shriners, they have a charitable side study of cures for cerebral palsy and dental work for the poor.

The Thule Society

Immediately after the end of World War One, numerous secret societies began to rise in Germany. Some of these secret societies started as a means to rebuild the German Empire, while others as a healing spring for the nations ills. One of the strongest and most closely tied to the Nazi party was the Thule 27

Society. They held that secret, occult wisdom was held in the arctic land of Thule. This order was founded by Baron Rudolf von Sebottendorff (1875-1945). He taught that he discovered wisdom that had been perverted through Freemasonic teachings. Sebottendorff

was born in Silesia in November, 1875. Early in life, he became a merchant seaman and traveled to the Middle East. This travel in search of knowledge put him in the same company as Parsival of the Grail Quest, Christian Rozenkratz, Rofelt Pasha Bey of the Shriners, and even founders of several Black Muslim and Holiness Churches in the United States such as Daddy Grace, Fard Muhammad, Professor Ezzaldeen

Muhammad, and Noble Drew Ali. In Turkey he was allegedly exposed to a group that he called the Ancient Turkish Freemasons.

28

In the advertisement of English translation of his work The Practice of the Ancient Turkish Freemasons: The Key to Understanding of Alchemy A presentation of the Ritual, Doctrine and Signs of Recognition among the Oriental Freemasons, the publisher, Runa-Raven, presents the book as containing, The practices part signs and of secret of the the 20th spiritual Bektashi century. formulas, conclusion,

order as taught in the early These practices make use of and to vocal their which, if performed exactly transform the individual into the object of the magnum opus of the medieval alchemists. A closer reading of the text found less than a half dozen brief quotes from Sufi saints, none of whom are Bektashi writers, sheikhs, or poets. The rituals 29

presented in the text included use of mirrors and candles for meditation and which are aimed to elevate the level of depth of mental concentration. All of these rituals can be found in basic mail order Rosicrucian texts and are definitely not part of any known Sufi practice. Quotes manuscript Hindu and containing from and similar Latin from Rosicrucian miscellaneous ritual texts no show

Egyptian

concepts

connection whatsoever with the Bektashi Order. For example the first line is a quote from Latin Libelli habeant sua fata, Books should have their own destiny. It quotes a hadith tether your ass and trust in God on the second page without reference and calls it an Arab proverb. His discussion of Islam history is superficial and repeats slander of the message coming from Jewish and Christian sources, Not far from Mecca lived an aged hermit, Ben Chesi, who was teaching the Prophet [Muhammad]. 30

When the lessons were over, he gave him a metallic plate (upon which were engraved formulas), the meaning of which the then 30-year old Prophet had just learned. Soon thereafter the hermit died, but Muhammad kept on teaching the secret of these formulas in the most intimate circles. Abu Bekr, the first Calif, inherited the plate and the knowledge which only spread within a small circle after the death of the Prophet: this is the secret knowledge of the Oriental Freemasons (Sebettondorff, page 6). Sebettondorf goes on to explain that the keys to these plates are hid in the Quran in the Huruf al-Muqatta or abbreviated letters that precede some surahs. These explanations are not found in any traditional Islamic, Bektashi, or Sufi text. Some scholars do give mystical explanations for the letters, but none mention metallic plates or a hermit named Ben Chasi. He goes on to explain the length of various 31 consciousness

raising practices based on the numeric values of these letters. Supposedly the source is a Turkish Kabbalist named Hussein Pasha and an untraced manuscript Ilm ul-Miftach (Knowledge of the Key). Note that this spelling is Hebrew not Arabic or Turkish. Would a Turkish Bektashi write a text with a Hebrew title? He describes this work as, the preparation of the Philosophers Stone, the magnum opus, the mystery of the Rosicrucians and alchemists (Sebettondorf, page 19). The source for this the title of the text above is his novel Der Talsiman Rosenkreuzers. He did live in Turkey and had ties to the land through the Turkish Red Crescent Society and various Freemasons and Sufis he met there, but there has been no clear connection with an established Sufi Order beyond a few brief quotes from his text that could be culled from any library. Another source that has yet to be traced that he 32

mentions is Sheikh Jachyas Charam eldin (again a Hebrew title). Most other texts mentioned are German and Latin Rosicrucian Ras at texts. However, the he does is quote from Mahmud Shebisteris Gulshen length where Zodiac described as a sign of Allah. Sebottendorff fought in the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913, became a director of the Red Crescent Society and became Grand Master of the Turkish branch of the Rosicrucian Society. He learned to speak Turkish, so when he returned to Germany he had the garb of a Grand Master. Few could, at the time, contest his claims and really had no reason to since they presented a path to the rebuilding of the Reich. This tie to the Rosicrucian society is also seen in the title of his autobiographical novel Der Talsiman Rosenkreuzers. The Rosicrucians were a Germanic secret society founded in Germany by Christian Rosencrantz. 33 He was an

alchemist who claimed to have gained his spiritual knowledge from unnamed Shaykhs in Morocco. His teachings were transmitted in such texts as the Fama and the Chemical Wedding. They deal with crystal gazing, self hypnotism, and Astrology. These practices and works do not suggest a strong Islamic or Bektashi base for the Thule Society and their claims to the teachings of Ancient Turkish Freemasonry. A brief search of

the Internet will show the modern version of this Germanic Order called the AMORC and its attempts to trace its teachings to ancient Egypt and Tibet. Such details can be found in the text Unto Thee I Grant. This work was supposed written by Amenhotep and then later placed in a Tibetan Lamas Monastery. In 1913 CE Sebottendorff returned to Germany with two treasure chests wealth from his adoptive father and a vast knowledge of eastern wisdom. He began to make contact with the leaders 34

of various German occult and mystical groups. He came to the attention of Rudolph Hess and Herman Pohl of the Germanen Order and helped to found the journal Runen The and later Munchener journal was Beobachter.

eventually purchased by the Nazi Party and renamed Volkisher Beobachter. The Baron himself saw the founding of his Thule Society on August 17, 1918 CE as the cradle of the National Socialist Movement. After the German defeat, the society began a focal point of anti-Bolshevik and Nationalist struggle. Hitler never joined the Thule Society itself, but joined its political wing, which later became the National Socialist Party. Sebottendorff even wrote about this in his work Bevor Hitler Kam. The society eventually devoted itself to study of German History and customs and began to search for the mystical land of Thule. The Thule Society eventually ruptured into two groups 35

one whose focus was totally mystical and the other that was a blend of the occult, mystical, Practice and of political. the Sebottendorff Turkish returned to Turkey and published his The Ancient Freemasons. In Turkey, Sebottendorff joined the Imperial Constantine Order and fought against Bolshevik ideology. His works were later suppressed by the Nazis and he died under mysterious circumstances in 1945 CE. With his death, his work has been relegated to the pens of historians of the Nazi Movement and bookshelves of White Supremist groups. Like the Thule, the next group I shall discuss, the Dawoodi-Bektashis, claim Turkish origins for its concocted teachings as well.

The Dawoodi-Bektashi Order

The Grotto, Shriners, Thule Society, and the Rosicrucians all purport to be a repository of ancient mystical wisdom. His history is likewise 36 shrouded in

mystery and its founder brought secret hidden wisdom to the world stage. While these calling earlier itself groups the never openly claimed to be Bektashi, a modern group Dawoodi-Bektashis does. The head of this group is Americanborn Professor Thomas McElwain (known as Ali Haydar to his followers). His claims to the origin of his self-fabricated Sufi order are continually conflicting and contradictory, but his chief assertion is that his Dawoodi-Bektashi Order is the true embodiment of what was taught by the 13th century Anatolian saint Haji Bektashi and that it has existed in one form or another for centuries around the world and in, of all places, Appalachia. Professor McElwain professes to have inherited the Dawoodi-Bektashi spiritual path from his forefathers and has hence gone public with it, to a limited extent. I wish to be clear that my intention here is to show that the continued assertions of Ali Haydar that 37

this concocted tradition is somehow a representative form of Bektashism is completely counterfeit and ostensibly of his own construction. Prof. McElwain recently went into the realm of academia with some of his speculations and claims in his article, Sufism Bridging East & West: the case of the Bektashis in Sufism in Europe and North America (edited by David Westerlund), a work that should have been of interest for any historian of American Muslim History. In this article he told of a previously secreted and unknown Sufi order in Appalachia that had been preserved through family transmission dating from the 1500s CE. Rumors of Muslim wayfarers from that era are found in various pieces of literature but as far it is known to date, none of these individuals were known to have been able to pass Islamic religious traditions beyond a few generations. Even where slavery and assimilation had 38

not hindered the transmission of Islam as a faith, most Muslims living in North America had difficult training their children in the faith for several reasons: lack of Islamic education on the part of parents, lack of curriculum materials, free time, inter-faith marriages, and interest on the part of children. This extraordinary transmission of Islam (and Sufism) related by McElwain was so astounding and fantastic that a novel can be written about it! Before progressing further, I wish to mention one disconcerting mark of this article, especially when juxtaposed with the claims made in other posts and material, is so full of questionable theories and conjectures, with every other assertion being started with so many maybes, ifs, that it makes the entire piece seem amateurish at best and incompetent at worst and it gives rise to a very serious question: What is the rationale for all of this hypothesizing? 39

Could it be that claims to represent an Appalachian Bektashi tradition cannot stand that even will the slightest alert academic careful scrutiny? One obvious disappointment certainly is Prof. researchers this McElwains

abstention from mentioning whatsoever much-touted Dawoodi-Bektashi tradition in the article at all! One would think given the purported antiquity of the tradition an entire study could be made solely on that. As I read the article in question, I found many factual of blunders both in early McElwains depiction

American Islam and, more distressingly, of Bektashism. I will not go into these gaffes in detail here, but what I will mention here is a passage where McElwain purports a Bektashi presence in North America from the 16th century along with my comments. He writes, In America there may be [emphasis mine, as is all further instances] an early 40

Bektashi

influence.

Brent

Kennedy

postulates a survival of Turkish and Moorish prisoners set ashore in the early 1500s and having descendants among the Melungeons with were of the a the southern the Appalachians. For those who may be unfamiliar Melungeons name, mixed-race

Appalachian group that was made-up of bits and pieces of the Lost Colony of Roanoke Island, runaway slaves, and several Native American tribal groups. There are over 200 similar groups such as the Ben Ishmael Tribe, the Sumter Turks, the Seminoles, the Dismal Swamp Maroons, Guineas. Melungeons appearance, and and with the West works their such Virginian on the are Scholarly

folklore as

fortunately starting to make a modest Wayne Walkers Walking towards the Sunset, and Elizabeth Hirschmans Melungeons: The Last Lost Tribe in America . Certainly the whole question of Melungeon origins 41

will

certainly

be

revealed

through

modern DNA testing. McElwain had written earlier about the Melungeons and their folklore, but he had not mentioned any Islamic connection until Brent Kennedys The Melungeons: A Forgotten Folk came out in the early 1990s. In that work Kennedy offers the theory of a possible Turkish (hence Muslim) bloodline for certain makes Melungeon families. McElwain

much use of this theorized link to bolster his own claims of the existence of a Dawoodi tradition although he continually fails to offer any evidence other than the most circumstantial sort. In actual fact he goes out of his way to place enough disclaimers into his assertions that it seriously undermines what little credibility can be given to a Dawoodi-Bektashi tradition: There are Melungeons who retain some personal practices, but there is no organizational presence within living memory, nor any 42

record of it. Melungeons have been covering evidence their will tracks up, for as several well as, centuries, so it is unlikely that real turn Another problem lies in the fact that such a population, if it actually existed, was separated from the centre before of it Bektashi development

crystallized into its more stable form in the sixteenth century. Are there traces of Bektashism among the Melungeons or not? McElwain has clearly claimed in other places that Bektashism (and his Dawoodi among branch) this did indeed exist group: Appalachian

Melungeons and consequently Dawoodis have sprung. Documentation is generally lacking, and family traditions are plagued with falsifications. (Yahoo Group, SufiDhikr, post #1797) as well as Dawoodism has been a continual factor among certain Appalachian Melungeon families through whom the tradition has

43

come down in an unbroken line to the present bearers. (Sufi-Dhikr, #1797). It is known that Sir Walter Raleigh seized nearly 500 people from the Mediterranean basin and from Brazil to replace the members of his first colony, but after leaving the new colonists, he failed to return for over three years and when he did found a tree on which was carved the word Croatan as the only trace of the fate of his second Lost Colony. In the over 500 members of the Lost Brazil Colony (who there included had small numbers of slaves taken from Portuguese may have Muslims among them), Croatians and Dalmatians, and possibly a Turk or two. Now what a Turk or Moor was defined as in those days is still under debate, and it can be surmised that a handful of the 500 could have been Muslim. They might have even been Sufis, but certainly not Bektashi given that this particular order was not widespread in the Balkans at this 44

time. In fact it was not until the late 18th century that Bektashism gained a predominant presence in Albania, Greece and western Macedonia. Even if there were Muslims with Raleigh, what is the possibility that any from the Balkans or even Anatolia would have been Bektashi? So slight that it wouldnt even be worth speculating.1 An additional feature of McElwains article (as well as his online posts) is that he tries to find Bektashis (and by extension his own Dawoodi-Bektashis) everywhere, even in places where they had never been. He states in one of his posts that, Dawoodis have spread to many areas of the world almost invisibly, leaving traces that are hard to document [how convenient!]. (Sufi-Dhikr #1794) One of his notable errors in this regard (that can be verified by taking a trip to
More information on the Balkan element of the Lost Colony can be found in the work Croatia and the Croatians of the Lost Colony by Adam S. Eterovich.
1

45

present-day Macedonia) is his attributing Bektashism to the Rifai-Karabashi shaykh of Skopje, Ibrahim Erol, and claiming that his tekke is rife with the fakir trickery. The difference between the Rifais and Bektashis may not be noticeable to a novice student of Sufism, but to a shaykh and an academic? The idea of use of trickery and of physical proofs of faith (such as handling red-hot spikes) should have signaled to McElwain that Shaykh Ibrahim and his tekke were definitely not Bektashi, and that he should have further investigated what his second-hand source was telling him. Bektashis have never been known to engage in such mortification of the flesh, in fact many would see harming the body at all as being a sin! Elsewhere Prof. McElwain surmises that Bektashi lodges continue to exist in Hungary and other parts of Western Europe. As far as I know only the trbe (mausoleum) of Gl Baba in Budapest 46

still exists in Hungary as Islam and Bektashism ceased to have a presence in that land when the Hapsburg armies conquered in 1686 CE. He is correct about Alevis being in modern Germany and France, but here is a simple failure to make a distinction between Alevi and Bektashi. While the two traditions share much in common in origins, structure and spiritual outlook they are nonetheless separate religious traditions and very distinct. In another part of the article Prof. McElwain makes an exciting claim that in some way the Anabaptists of Silesia (perhaps he meant Transylvania and perhaps he meant Unitarians) were somehow related to the Bektashis. He actually opens his article with, The Silesian Anabaptists, who in the sixteenth century frantically appealed to the Sultan for help in the face of the Lutheran threat, never met their Bektashi brothers attached to the Ottoman army, for it 47

never got past Vienna and came too late. Can he give us the reference to this alleged connection to the Bektashis? What does he imply here by Bektashi brothers? Brothers in a human sense, brothers theologically or were the Anabaptists Bektashis themselves? Given his constant reference to Protestantism in a number of his online posts perhaps McElwain sees connections that I miss. In the article and his online material Prof. McElwain makes much of the peculiar figure of Edward Elwall (1676-1744 CE), an Englishman who was a member of the Presbyterian Church who was later prosecuted for blasphemy in 1726 for his outspoken criticism of the Trinity. McElwain has graciously posted a number of Elwalls writings online for all to see.2 Elwall seems had done business in Turkey and had at some point become a
2

http://www.rosanna.com/mcelwain/elwall/index.html

48

Unitarian. There is no explicit evidence that he became a Muslim, even though his sympathies with Islam were quite apparent. He was even noted to have taken to the Turkish Habit out of respect to the Unitarian faith of the Mahometans (Champion, 1992, page 177) and to have donned turbans and robes. What is in question is McElwains shifting assertions of Elwall being a Bektashi. In his A Path in Time (paragraph 7) McElwain openly states that Elwall was a Bektashi: There is no evidence that Edward Elwall, probably the most eminent and visible of English Bektashis, ever succeeded in establishing a partnership with a single one of his countrymen. This position is also maintained on the website that presents his writings: This did not prevent his [McElwains] representing the Seventh Day Baptist to Missionary the Society of in the northern Europe until the end of 1990, referring precedent 49

foremost English writer of that tradition, Edward Elwall, who was also a member of the Bektashi order. Yet I am puzzled as to why he would write in one of his posts on the history of his tradition that, Dawoodis have long been found in Europe as well. Edward Elwalls early 18 th century writings reveal him to have had connection with some Sufi order, and his teachings Dawoodi are most consonant Why didnt with he principles.

openly say Bektashi instead of now some Sufi order? Further down in the same post he surprisingly states that, neither the Eckerlins nor Edward Elwall can be noted with certainty to have been members of the order. One day Elwall is a Bektashi the next not? If the later is the case, why would there even be need to constantly mention him in the context of Bektashis at all? The Eckerlin brothers in question are another connection Prof. McElwain uses to make a case for an early Bektashi 50

presence in America. The Ekerlins were involved with the Dunkard community of Ephrata, Pennsylvania and were said to have had an Ishmaelite faith (perhaps Unitarian is meant, although the Dunkards certainly werent Unitarians) and were exiled to what is now Preston County, West Virginia in the 1750s. McElwain notes in his A Path in Time that, Evidence of their [the Eckerlins] contact with Bektashis is not strong since most of the direct documentation was destroyed, but they certainly closely have a spiritual the practice resembling

musahiblik. In post #1797 of the SufiDhikr discussion group Prof. McElwain adds the following lengthy information about the Eckerlin brothers, Dawoodis have had a presence on the American continent apparently for many centuries. Stories of transmission include references to the Friday evening sema, of the decalogue and the Psalms among certain Melungeon families. There is a 51

strong possibility of contact between the Eckerlin brothers and Dawoodis between 1752 and 1756 CE. The Eckerlins may have had correspondence, directly or indirectly, with Edward Elwall. However, neither the Eckerlins nor Edward Elwall can be noted with certainty to have been members of the order. Again why mention any of these figures at all given that their connection to Bektashism can in no way be verified? If one would note all the individuals throughout history who held beliefs and practices containing the slightest similarities it with is Bektashism halfway youd be able to fill out volumes! Lamentably only through Sufism Bridging East & West: the case of the Bektashis that Prof. McElwain mentions the sole confirmable and verifiable presence of Bektashis in America, that of Baba Rexheb (19011995 CE) and the centre he established in 1954. Baba Rexheb nonetheless receives only a miniscule paragraph, 52

despite his being a man who devoted his entire life to the way of Haji Bektash, a man who gave up a family life, a man who lived in exile from his homeland for 50 years and a man who was singlehandedly responsible for safeguarding the Bektashi Way during the darkest hours of communist rule over Albania. Additionally Baba Rexheb wrote a length study in Albanian on Islamic Mysticism and Bektashism translated entitled to Misticimza It is Islame dhe Bektashizme, which was later partially English. astonishing that Prof. McElwain doesnt even discuss this work and only says that Bektashism of Baba failed Rexhebs to become integrity in more not widely spread in North America because compromising the spiritual tradition for other agendas. I can only ask, can anyone name a real spiritual guide who has done otherwise? Unfortunately he also fails to mention what these other agendas are. 53

One is puzzled as what to make of Prof. McElwains statements that the Dawoodi branch of the Bektashi Order represents the order founded by Haji Bektash in its purity and simplicity? To begin with, I have to ask has history ever witnessed a tariqat that posts a legal disclaimer about potential misuse of a novices manual? For Dawoodi-Bektashis this manual is entitled How to Form a Sufi Lodge: The Dawoodi-Bektashi Order of Dervishes: Guide for Establishing and Maintaining a Sufi Lodge, and its presents the reader with a general view of the religious currents driving group as formulated by Prof. McElwain and his khalifah, Mr. Kemal Argon (Noursu Nazruddin). Reading through it one is

hard pressed to find anything remarkably Bektashi in it at all. The entire text appears to maintain an adherence to normative Islam and standard Sufi practice, coupled with a heavy dose of references to the Old Testament. 54

In reality the actual source of Prof. McElwains claims do not come from Bektashi tradition but can rather be found in his own writings and posts. We are told in one communication by that the Dawoodi-Bektashi Order was founded by none other than Haji Bektash himself (Sufi-Dhikr, #4409), and yet we read in a later post (#5383) that there was no order known as the Dawoodi-Bektashi until Prof. McElwain affixed the designation himself. In the very same post he laudably divulges that, because of the lack of historical documentation, I have felt it best to suppress the chain of transmission altogether, and rely merely on the twelve imams. But why would this need to be done? Are there currently teams of hojas running around the mountains West Virginia with the Sultans troops in tow hounding out secreted Bektashis? In the Dawoodi-Bektashi movement Prof. McElwain presents 55 a Sufi

brotherhood contains commonplace Sufi ritual, and which recites both the Quran and Bible verses in their sama. The description of the dhikr ceremony as provided in How to Form a Sufi Lodge has nothing particularly Bektashi about except a listing the 12 Imams and Haji Bektash Veli. And it should be added that Bektashis do not make group dhikr with repetitive chanting as described in the manual. It should also be noted that Bektashis (or any other Sufi order to my knowledge) have never used the Bible as an authoritative religious scripture. In his section on beliefs and practices, Prof. McElwain repeatedly emphasizes an alleged Bektashi use of the Quran and the Bible. I personally have read many Sufi texts as well as Bektashi nefes and have not encountered any examples of Bektashis using the Bible to prop up religious doctrine. An acquaintance of mine has informed me of Bektashis in the Balkans honoring the four scriptures but 56

that they nevertheless do not teach from them. Teaching from the Zabur or Psalms is problematical in any event since an authoritative Islamic translation from and commentary on them has never existed. Prof. McElwain does constantly assert the very Bektashi concept of the Four Gates, except that his analysis of them can be seen as superficial at best. A good reading of J.K. Birges noteworthy The Bektashi Order of Dervishes would present a much more focused view, as would a cursory reading of Bektashi nefes. But I must presume that Prof. McElwain can not do this and a few lines from his semi-autobiographic Hello I am God: A Bektashi Rosary should explain why: Many of the villagers did me the honor of coming to pay their respects. There was a line of visitors almost every day it seemed. 57 One

gentleman listened carefully to everything I said. He eyed me curiously. Finally he said to the host in a loud whisper, Is your friend mentally deficient? Why no, said my friend. Then why does he speak Turkish so poorly? In his collection of writings and numerous posts Prof. McElwain neglects to show even the slightest knowledge of Haji Bektashs writings, be they in Turkish, Persian, Arabic or anything other than a very jumbled and ambiguous understanding of authentic Bektashi (or Alevi for that matter) beliefs, rituals, customs and social attitudes. Although he continually makes reference to the groups validation to claim Bektashism being their supposed Maqalat, use his of Haji Bektashs disciples

constantly post messages on the SufiDhikr discussion group clamoring for 58

English translations, which, I might add, are never provided. How can you claim to follow a book you have no access to? Most of what is passed as Bektashi in How to Form a Sufi Lodge can easily be retrieved from Birges book as well as the extremely problematic work Extremist Shiites by Matti Mousa. One begins to develop a sense that Prof. McElwain no interest (or ability) access to the dearth of material on Bektashism a more that is currently available in modern Turkish, through given. As McElwains Bektashi mentioned inventory can traditions above, of be Prof. in Dawoodifound which concise representation of Bektashism could be

Birges book although here they are listed as village Alevi practices that may or may not correspond to Bektashi customs. This inventory is not original and is not expanded upon. Rather it reads like a laundry list of already known 59

facts

rather

than

systematic

interpretation of faith and practice. One interesting point is Prof. McElwains claim of one Bektashi trait found in the to Dawoodis: tolerance and goodwill

people of all faiths. Certainly Bektashis have long been known for tolerance and liberality, but the complex nature of Bektashi theology did not necessarily make it easier for converts to be accepted easily into the fold. And given the amount of contempt and disdain related in many of the posts of the groups official representatives in the Sufi-Dhikr discussion group makes one wonder if such principles are really stressed at all.3
To give the reader a taste of such attitudes I will give here one of the postings given by khalifah Kemal Argon: I was going on the assumption that there are different kinds of Bektashis. There are those who are good practicing Muslims and there are others who place themselves beyond the pale of God's laws and have no shortage of convenient little rationalizations for why they are indifferent to Right Guidance, misguided, and are spiritually retarded ignoramuses. Those ignoramuses are such a waste of time to talk to. In fact, when I have met one of those for certain, I felt a need to dissociate myself from him or her because I dont want to see and hear
3

60

How to Form a Sufi Lodge bases itself around an extended commentary on the Ten Commandments. These form the basis of the Dawoodi-Bektashi practices. Yet again why would an Islamic Sufi order use Christian or Jewish scared texts as a criterion to judge Islamic sources? I can comprehend studying Jewish or Christian works using the Quran as a criterion, but the inverse? Such a thing is unheard of in Islamic history and certainly there is nothing in
how they have taken a magnificent religious tradition that was entrusted to them and neglected it completely, allowing it to turn into some pseudo-religious cultural phenomenon which is a mockery of its former achievement. I have met some of those and it was good to be able to say that I don't need them. Usually it is enough to say that I dont speak Turkish and my Dawoodi-Bektashism is not dependent on speaking Turkish or Albanian and I also don't care to spend too much time learning those languages (and if I did I would not tell them.) This conveniently ditches all that irrelevant Turkish and Albanian irreligious cultural baggage. These people are such a waste of time for believing Muslims to talk to. It is also not my job to waste time educating them for free when they are obviously not the best candidates for instruction in our path. If any of them come to me, I am going to be looking for evidence of commitment to Islamic faith and practice. If that is not present, they will be dismissed before they waste any more of my time. (Sufi-Dhikr, post #6019)

61

Bektashism would lend itself to such a practice. The of manual time ends with for a the description keeping

Dawoodi-Bektashi in the Appalachians. The notching of a wooden post each evening at sunset is interesting. An evening dhikr being held when each seventh notch was being made must have destroyed many a porch post over the past five centuries. In his A Path in Time Prof. McElwain claims to have discovered that Bektashis can be divided into three groups. One group follows a hereditary leader, another non-hereditary, and the final one, hardly to be called a group at all, has no visible leadership. Let met state explicitly: There have never been branches of Bektashis. Prof. McElwain is correct in noting the two similar currents of Babagan and Chelebi. Yet if he would have had access to the works of Turkish scholars of Bektashism he would have found that the Chelebis, 62

though claiming paternal decent from Haji Bektash, never claimed to be a Bektashi Order. The Babagan or Tariki-Nazenin as it has been called is what even the most mediocre student of Sufism or Ottoman history knows to be Bektashi. There have never been any hyphenated Bektashi branches, ever! Moreover Prof. McElwain implicitly degrades the Babagan through his claim that it does not represent Haji Bektashs teachings in their authenticity. He states that, Especially in the 1500s reforms came into prominent branches of the order with changes and additions, but the Dawoodi-Bektashi branch was unaffected by that. (Sufi-Dhikr, #4409) Balim Sultan (d. 1520) systematized and organized the Bektashi Order and is even listed as its Pir-i-Thani (Second Patron Saint). However he is incorrect to assume that Balim Sultan had somehow made additions and changes. Hurufi attitudes, reverence for the 12 Imams 63

and ideas of liberality were already present in the Qalandar roots starting with Haji Bektash Velis grand-shaykh Ahmad to as Yesevi. Pir Balim Sultan) Sultan may (whom have McElwain mistakenly refers in the article standardized the order and formalized rules of initiation and degrees, but the doctrines and beliefs of the Bektashis after Balim Sultan were certainly not invented by him. In addition the image of a Sunni Shariah-stressing Haji Bektash (to which the Dawoodis appear to promote) is a 20th century rewriting of the history by certain individuals in Turkey holding sectarian agendas. In addition to all of the above claims and counterclaims, on the 21 st of October, 2004, Prof. McElwain finally disclosed a picture of the Bektashi origins of the Dawoodi-Bektashis that may have been closer to the truth. In this post he states that his teacher was none other than his grandmother 64 Evalyn

Mullins Dawoodi

McElwain. teaching,

She

received

the

Prof.

McElwain

maintains, from her father, John Mullins. What she purportedly taught was a silsilah containing the names of the 12 Imams, the concept of the four gates, the four books, veneration of the Decalogue (Ten Commandments), a recitation of Psalms on Friday night, and the prohibition of alcohol. Except for the acceptance of the 12 Imams and 4 gates and books there is nothing a rural Southern Baptist wouldnt accept. For that reason, if we are to believe that this tradition did exist before Prof. McElwains time, it certainly would not have stood out. More revealing he admits in the post that this spiritual tradition cannot be traced before 1850 and mentions the possibility that John Mullins could have made the whole thing up. He shockingly states, There is no documentation for the order beyond 1850 that we know of, and no documentation of a historical 65

Turkish

connection.

There

is

the

possibility that John Mullins invented the whole thing. What are we to make of all the potential connections we have been given between Silesian Baptists, Bektashis, Donmehs, Elwall, and the Melungeons? What are we to do with the earlier assertions of a Dawoodi tradition originating with Haji Bektash and then surviving for 400 years in the Appalachians? Where exists then the connection between Thomas McElwain and Haji Bektash Veli? Can any of this now be taken seriously? In this revealing post Prof. McElwain also states to have suppressed the silsilah, shortened the introduction of the liturgy, and to have added both the names Dawoodi and Bektashi himself to what he was teaching. He called his order as Dawoodiyya in order not to confuse it with the Ismaili DawoodiBohras of India and out of reference to the prevalent practice (not necessarily 66

always followed) of reciting the Zabur or Psalms of David as a central part of dhikr and further claims Anatolian and Kurdish origins when he writes, The only extensive reference in a scholarly work that I know of is the one in the book Extremist Shi'ite: The Ghulat Sects , by Matti Moosa, Syracuse University Press, 1988. In the absence of an Islamic text of the Zabur one must wonder in what language these recitations are taking place. There are many messages posted on Sufi-Dhikr where Prof. McElwain accentuates a connection between his group and the Dawudis mentioned by Mousa (who are in fact an obscure branch of the Ahl-i-Haqq of western Iran) leading one to believe that the two groups are one and the same. Yet all of contention is completely wrecked with the revelation that the tradition was obtained from his forefather John Mullins

67

by way of his son William Mullins and granddaughter Evalyn Mullins McElwain. McElwains story given at the end of Sufism Bridging East & West: the case of the Bektashis narrating his meeting with a descendant of Yunus Emre while in Turkey seems like his meeting of his shaykh. This Bektashi was not a member of any lodge and said Allah is my pir as well as Allah is my musahip. McElwain says that the mans silsilah was just the twelve Imams. Wow, just like Shaykh Ali Haydars? From him he learned repetition of some names of Allah as a form of lone dervish dhikr and was exposed to a Khidr-like teaching experience while visiting Konya. The drunken Bektashi version of the Mevlevi whirling was a way to tell about the idea of the Abdal, but Shaykh Ali Haydar didnt make the connection; a Bektashi would have. This leads to his final contention that only a Bektashi of the wandering dervish sort could able to 68

follow the path of Haqiqat. What about his Shariah-driven Hadith. I believe it was Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani who stated that, The shaykh of a one without a shaykh is none other that Shaytan. I would very much like to ask Prof. McElwain to show us another DawoodiBektashi from his particular lineage that is not an immediate family member and who is a Melungeon. Can any information be provided highly beyond speculation and theories? Bektashi improbable

history is there for all to read. It is a tradition that has been clearly recorded and that has a base in historical fact. Can the same be said for this self-styled branch of Bektashism? Ill leave it to my honored listeners to decide. Sufism and other instructive paths need not be made-up, like the rituals of purportedly secret orders. There are real manuals of instruction and authentic spiritual traditions traceable through legitimate silsilas. They provide guidance 69

that has stood the test of time. They have been able to remain reliable and consistent compasses through the turbulent seas and soaring mountains of both the physical and spiritual realms of existence. The law of the Golden Rule flows through the teachings of all Sufi Orders do not harm or do into others as you would have them do unto you. We see this in the dictum of Haji Bektashi Veli, Respect all 73 sects. This idea of universal appreciation and respect for the thoughts and opinions of others, if taken from this book, would certainly make the world a better place, and spread world. May Allah bless those who gather remembrance of the Ahlul Bayt. Ya Ali Madad! the goodwill throughout the

70

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and Spiritual Groups in Modern America. Englewood Prentice Hall. Eterovich, Adam S., Croatia and the Croatians of the Lost Colony Goodrick-Clarke, Nicholas, (1992). The Occult Roots of Nazism: Secret Aryan Cults and their influence on Nazi ideology, N.Y., N.Y. U.P. Hirschman, Elizabeth, Melungeons: The Last Lost Tribe in America Kennedy, Brent. The Melungeons: A Forgotten Folk McElwain, Dr. Thomas, A Path in Time ----------------------------, Hello, Im God: a Bektashi Rosary (Minerva, 1998) Moosa, Maati (1998). Extremist Shi'ite: The Ghulat Sects, Syracuse U.P. Muraskin, William Allen, (1975). Middle Class Cliffs, New Jersey:

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Blacks in a White Society: Prince Hall Freemasonry in America. Berkeley, University of California. The Mystic Shrine: An Illustrated Ritual of the Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, (1975, rev. ed.). Chicago, Ezra Cook Pub., Inc. Norsu AbdurNur, Shaykh Kamal & Shaykh Ali, (2005, revised ed.). How to Form a Sufi Lodge: Order of Dervishes: Guide for Establishing and Maintaining a Sufi Lodge Rashad, Adib, (1991). History of Islam and Black Nationalism in America. Beltsville, M.D., Writers Inc. Sebottendorf, Baron Rudolf von, (2000). The Practice of the Ancient Turkish Freemasons: Understanding 74 The of Key to A Alchemy The Dawoodi-Bektashi

Presentation of the Ritual, Doctrine and Signs of Recognition among the Press, E. Flowers). Secret Societies Illustrated, (n.d.). Chicago, Ezra Cook Pub., Inc. MacKinzie, Norman, ed. (1967). Secret Societies. Chicago, Holy, Reinhart and Wilson. Southern, R.W., (1962). Western Views of Islam Tsou, Dr.Cao in the (1923, Middle trans.), Ages. Infinite Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard U.P. Wisdom. Chicago: DeLawrence Co. Van Deventer, Fred, (1959). Parade to Glory: The Story of the Shriners and Their Hospitals for Crippled Children. N.Y., William Morrow and Co. Oriental Texas, Freemasons. Runa-Raven Smithville,

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Waite,

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Encyclopedia of Freemasonry. N.Y., Weathervane Books. Westerlund, David, ed., Sufism in Europe and North America (Rutledge Curzon, 2003) Whalen, William, (1966). Handbook of Secret Organizations. Bruce Publishing Company. Wilmore, Gayrand, (1973). Black Religion and Black City, Radicalism. Anchor Garden Press, N.Y.: Milwaukee, The

Doubleday. Wilson, Peter Lambourn, (1988). Scandal: Essays in Islamic Heresy. Brooklyn, Autonomedia. ----------------------------, (1993). Sacred Drift Essays on the Margins of Islam. San Francisco, City Lights.

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