The teachings adapted from communities in our area of the world (Middle East region) as the source of spiritual enlightenment for the Templar Knights and Europe’s occult fraternities were significant.

From the days of the renowned Sufi Master Mansour Hallaj 858-922 who wrote:
“I am the Truth” and preached the importance of the annihilation of the ego (which allows God to speak through the individual), to
the group called ‘the Brethren of Purity’ (952AD Ikhwan al-Safa), the ideas of discovering the self in an inward journey spread to the Europe based fraternities.

Ikhwan al-Safa dedicated themselves to the pursuit of science and published an encyclopedia of philosophy, theology, astrology, metaphysics, cosmology, and the natural sciences, including botany and zoology. This brotherhood recognised truth wherever found, accepting the wisdom in other religions (an inclusiveness unheard of in those days). They taught that a seeker of truth must “shun no science, scorn no book, nor cling fanatically to a single creed.”

Similarly, the Tawhid philosophy, known as the present day secretive Druze religion, also played an important role in communicating its teachings. The Tawhid thought, Druze,
impacted masonic teachings through the practices as early as 1004 in Cairo, at Dar al-Hikmah, the “House of Wisdom”, (House of Knowledge), founded by the Fatimid Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah. The Caliph was referred to as the Grand Master of the House of Wisdom which included a massive library of over 400,000 volumes. It was known then as a “Wonder of the world”. In their rituals, it is said that, their use of allegory and cipher amounted to a secret language, which continues till present day, and has become the universal language of initiates.

These gatherings were named ‘philosophical conferences’ (Majalis-al-Hikmet). One of the devout students of these teachings was Hasan Sabbah who returned to his native land to form
the ‘Brotherhood of the Assassins’ with headquarters at the mountain monastery-fortress of Alamut (Eagle’s Nest) in Persia. The Assassins were referred to throughout the ages and were made popular in recent history by a Hollywood production under the same name.

The ‘House of Wisdom’ was so popular that, centuries later, European Freemasons copied its structure. Additionally,
the mythical Christian Rosenkreuz of the Rosicrucians is said to have established a secret “House of the Holy Spirit” modelled on the Druze “House of Wisdom” he claimed to have visited at Cairo.

Muslim historian Ameer Ali says: “the account of the different degrees of initiation adopted in the [House of Wisdom] forms an invaluable record.In fact, the [House of Wisdom] at Cairo became the model of all the [Freemasonic] Lodges created in Christendom”.