Freemasonry in Turkey

Part of a series on
Freemasonry
Overview Grand Lodge Masonic lodge Masonic lodge officers Grand Master Prince Hall Freemasonry Regular Masonic jurisdiction Anglo-American Freemasonry Continental Freemasonry
History History of Freemasonry Liberté chérie Masonic manuscripts
Masonic bodies Masonic Masonic bodies York Rite Order of Mark Master Masons Holy Royal Arch Royal Arch Masonry Cryptic Masonry Knights Templar Red Cross of Constantine Scottish Rite Knight Kadosh Societas Rosicruciana Order of Royal and Select Masters Grand College of Rites Swedish Rite Order of Saint Thomas of Acon Royal Order of Scotland Order of Knight Masons Research Lodge Corks Side degrees The Shrine Royal Order of Jesters Tall Cedars of Lebanon The Grotto Masonic groups for women Women and Freemasonry Order of the Amaranth Order of the Eastern Star Prince Hall Order of the Eastern Star Co-Freemasonry Masonic youth organizations DeMolay A.J.E.F. Job's Daughters International Order of the Rainbow for Girls
Views on Masonry Anti-Masonry Anti-Masonic Party Grand Anti-Masonic Exhibition Masonic conspiracy theories Christian attitudes towards Freemasonry Papal ban of Freemasonry Taxil hoax
People and places Masonic Temple James Anderson Prince Hall William Preston Thomas Smith Webb Albert Mackey Albert Pike John the Evangelist John the Baptist William Schaw Elizabeth Aldworth List of Freemasons Lodge Mother Kilwinning Freemasons' Hall, London Mark Masons' Hall, London House of the Temple Solomon's Temple Detroit Masonic Temple List of Masonic buildings
Related Masonic ritual and symbolism Great Architect of the Universe Square and Compasses Pigpen cipher Eye of Providence Hiram Abiff Chamber of Reflection List of Masonic Abbreviations Sprig of Acacia Masonic Landmarks Pike's Morals and Dogma Propaganda Due Dermott's Ahiman Rezon Volume of Sacred Law
By country Barbados Belgium Canada China Croatia Denmark France Finland Germany Iceland India Indonesia Israel Italy Japan Lebanon Luxembourg Malaysia Malta Mexico North Macedonia Philippines Portugal Romania Russia Scotland South Africa Spain Sri Lanka Sweden Thailand Turkey Ukraine Venezuela United States
v t e

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]

• Webpage of the Grand Lodge of Turkey
• Harunyahya.com, an anti-Masonic website purporting to be a history of Freemasonry and the Knights Templar in Turkey