The Myth About The Shriner's Fez
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We've all seen the Shriners, those jolly philanthropists with the red jackets, red fez and shining scooters they so enjoy driving in parades. What may not be known is that these men are not all play and no work. Their tireless efforts raise over two million dollars each day for a wide variety of hospitals. What is also not known by many is that each and every member of the Shrine is a Freemason as well.
One would think that a group whose main purpose is to have fun helping kids would be free from ridicule and malicious and slanderous attacks. Sadly such is not the case. Like Freemasonry itself, the Shriners are the targets of falsehoods aimed at damaging the credibility and work of this organization. Case in point the story about the origins of the Shriner's fez.
What follows is taken from the web site "Saints Alive in Jesus," run by Ed Decker, an evangelist and one of the foremost anti-Masons active today.
"Shriners are also known for their little red hats with a tassel. What people, including most Shriners don't know, is that hat called a Fez is named for a town in North Africa. In the 7th century Mohammed ordered the destruction of all infidels (anyone who would not bow to Allah) including all Christians. As the Muslim warriors swept across North Africa they came to Fez a Christian stronghold and they killed everyone in the town, they then dipped their hats in the blood of the Christians martyrs. They wore these blood red hats as a celebration of their victory and a warning to Christians, to convert to Islam or die."
From the article Freemasonry Revealed by By Rev. William Sudduth
http://www.saintsalive.com/freemasonry/sudduth.htm
This is a common misconception among Evangelical Christians, which has for too long gone unchallenged. As the author states, it is not well known. Of course it is not well known, because it never happened and it is a myth like so many used to defame Freemasonry and in this case, The Shrine organization.
These same individuals would have the public believe that the Shriners are an Islamic cult within the Masonic fraternity. Another example of an organization that perpetuates this myth is the evangelical cartoonist, Jack T. Chick, author of the anti-masonic tract, The Curse of Baphomet. Perhaps a little background on the Shrine will show the origins of the Arabic symbolism in the organization.
In the late 1800,s Manhattan had 900,000 residents of which several thousand were Masons. Many of these men enjoyed taking their lunch at the Knickerbocker Cottage on Sixth Avenue, where they met on the second floor. The luncheons were greatly enjoyed by all and were a welcome respite from the seriousness of the degree work in which each man was engaged in his home lodge. A common conversation, resulting from the jovial attitudes of the diners was to form a new Masonic fraternity based on fun, good times, and fellowship. While little came out of the conversations two of the regulars, William J. Florence, a well known actor of the day, and Walter M. Fleming, a medical doctor, decided to take matters to hand and do something about the idea.
As a celebrity of the New York stage, Florence had occasion to travel throughout Europe and the Middle East. While on tour in Marseilles, France, Florence took part in a private party given by an Arabian diplomat. The entertainment for the evening was elaborate musical comedy, which concluded with the guests becoming members of a secret society.
Florence felt that this production may be just what his colleagues at the Knickerbocker Cottage needed to implement there idea of a new fun based Masonic fraternity and to this end made all sorts of sketches and notes while in France. While on tour he had the opportunity to attend the production in Cairo and also in Algiers and expanded his notes at both events. Upon his return he explained the idea to his friend Walter Fleming, who agreed to assist him.
Fleming was born in 1838 and had served in the Civil War as a surgeon with the 13th New York Infantry Brigade of the National Guard and moved his practice to New York following the war. It was Fleming who converted Florence's notes and sketches into what would become the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.
The etymology of the name Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine has raised some question as to its origins. However, if one rearranges the letters of the name they see possibly that it was nothing more than an attempt to code, in a humorous way, the phrase A M A S O N.
Once completed, Fleming and Florence took the idea back to their friends at the restaurant and together the group formed the ritual, costumes, salutation and emblem of the order. It was these men that decided members would wear the red fez.
The founders of the order had some assistance in the persons of Charles T. McClenachan, William Sleigh Paterson and Albert L. Rawson, who wrote the initiation rites of the new group. McClenachan and Patterson were both experts on Masonic ritual and were likely the chief workers on the ritual portion, while Rawson, a noted scholar, is likely to have provided much of the Arabic background for the same.
The group chose the crescent as the jewel of the order. Any material can be used in forming the crescent, but the most valuable are the claws of a Royal Bengal Tiger, united at their base in a gold setting. In the center of the emblem is the head of a sphinx, and on the back are found a pyramid, an urn and a star. The motto inscribed on the jewel is "Robur et Furor," which means "Strength and Fury." Later additions to the emblem were the scimitar from which the crescent hangs, and a five-pointed star beneath the head of the sphinx. It is this later form that is used by the order today.
The fez, which is the official headgear of members then and today, has been accused by many to have unchristian origins, which we saw earlier and will return to in due course.
The first meeting was held on September 26, 1872 at the New York City Masonic hall where the first Shrine was formed. This first Shrine Temple was called Mecca. Like many new organizations, the shrine was not an immediate success and the second temple was not established until 1875 when one formed in Rochester, New York. By 1878, the order had grown to 13 Temples and a decade later in 1888 the order had grown to include 48 Temples and over 7,000 members. Growth was most prosperous between 1900 and 1918 with many new members joining and many new Temples forming.
During this later period of growth it was decided that there should be an official Shrine charity. While individual Shrines undoubtedly contributed to charity, there was no one central goal for the order. This changed in 1919 when Freeland Kendrick visited a Scottish rite hospital for crippled children. Kendrick was moved by what he saw as a great need for these children. The rest is history.
Today there are 22 Shriner's hospitals for children serving various needs. Twenty are located in the United States and there is one in Canada and one in Mexico. The hospitals are involved in orthopedic care, burn care and spinal cord injury. Indeed the men who wear the red fez have a great deal to be proud of. Unfortunately as we have seen there are those who wish to paint the fez in mythical blood.
The fact of the matter is that history shows quite a different origin. Sultan Idris I, who won a battle against the resident pagans, founded the city of Fez in the 8th century. Although his motivations may well have been to convert the residents of Fez to Islam, his successor Idris II was much more tolerant and it is this ruler who saw the advancement of the Fez. Wishing to encourage the local economy he expanded the town to the other side of the river. During this time dyes were not particularly well known for brilliance in color. However, the Moroccans were in possession of a formula for dye, which was highly prized. This dye was a bright crimson in color and it is from this dye and the fact that the caps were made in the city of Fez that the cap takes its name.
While there is no historical evidence to support the claim that Christians were massacred at Fez and the facts on the origins of the fez present another story, it has not stopped those opposed to Freemasonry from perpetuating a falsehood in regard to the origins of the fez.
(from http://www.freemasoninfo.ca)
