TRAPPED IN A MASONIC WORLD

if it ever really happened that way.
- 273 -
There are around 2,200 affiliated working men‘s clubs in the UK, and are a type of private social club
founded in the 19th century in industrial areas of the UK and particularly the North of England, to provide
recreation and education for working class men and their families. Most clubs affiliate to the Working
Men‘s Club and Institute Union [commonly known as the CIU or C&IU] of private members clubs in the
UK & N. Ireland, with about 3,000 associate clubs. One club in the Republic of Ireland, the City of Dublin
Working Men‘s Club is also affiliated, in all these clubs represent a membership of around six million
members, whom a percentage are freemasons as well. The CIU is affiliated to the Committee of
Registered Clubs Associations [CORCA], in which has thousands of registered clubs, i.e. London
Transport, British Rail, Banks Associations, Rugby clubs, football clubs etc. with millions of members.
The Royal British Legion [RBL], sometimes referred to as simply The Legion, is the United Kingdom‘s
leading charity providing financial, social and emotional support to those who have served or who are
currently serving in the British Armed Forces, and their dependants. It was granted a Royal Charter on the
29th May 1971 to mark its fiftieth anniversary which gives the Legion the privilege of the prefix ‗Royal‘.
The Royal British Legion has an extensive network of Social Clubs called Legion Halls throughout the
United Kingdom; sometimes these are known as United Services or Ex-Servicemen‘s Clubs. The Royal
British Legion also has branches in the Republic of Ireland, and spread around the world, mostly in
mainland Europe, but also in America, and Azerbaijan amongst other world nations. [1]
Anyone can join the Legion, and it is no longer required to have served in the military. Then last but
not least, there are thousands of social clubs, where millions of groups of people meet, generally they form
a common interest, occupation or activity, e.g. hunting, fishing, politics or charity work, and as well as
social clubs, there are a whole variety of other types of clubs having some social characteristics, for
example specific single-activity based clubs, military officers clubs, country clubs, golf clubs, tennis clubs
etc.
47. Freemasonry in the Muslim World
President Nasser violently abolished Freemasonry in 1961, having it been well and truly established in
Egypt since at least 1798, the days of Napoleon‘s exhibition, to the demise of the Masonic movement that
ended in disrepute and chaos in 1922, - that then in turn led to the establishment of the Muslim
Brotherhood [MB] founded in 1928, and that despite it being banned time and time again, has still survived
and is present in almost all middle eastern countries.
The Muslim Brotherhood [MB] started off as a social organisation, preaching Islam, teaching the
illiterate, [what the USA via the CIA done in Afghanistan for many years], setting up hospitals, [the Jesuits
and Shriners come to mind], and even launched commercial enterprises, [sounds like the kind of activity
the Rotary Club and Lions Club specialise in]. Then as the MB continued to rise in influence, starting in
1936, it began to oppose British rule in Egypt. Many Egyptian nationalists accuse the MB of violent
killings during this period. After the 1948 Arab defeat in the First Arab-Israeli war, the Egyptian
government dissolved the organisation and arrested its members; - its founder Hassan al-Banna was
assassinated. [1]
After the Egyptian coup of 1952, which was supported by the MB, it was once again banned and
repressed. Though the Brotherhood spread to other countries, it was suppressed there too: in 1982, Syria
violently crushed a Brotherhood revolt [the Hama massacre]. Starting in the 1980s it entered Egypt‘s
political arena, forming alliances with other parties, and fielding ―independent‖ candidates [if such a thing
is possible?]. When in 2005, the MB won 20% of the seats, Hosni Mubarak cracked down on the group.
As of 2011, the MB took an active part in the Egyptian protests, and are no doubt pulling the strings today
in its present negotiations.
It‘s interesting to note that Samir Raafat wrote an article in the Insight Magazine, on the 1st March
1999, titled: Freemasonry in Egypt- Is it still around? - Here‘s a tiny extract: On the 4th April 1964, the
Masonic Temple on Alexandria‘s Toussoun Street was shut down by order of the Ministry of Social
Affairs. The reason: ―Associations with undeclared agendas were incompatible with rules covering non
profit organisations.‖ Sufficiently disturbing evidence for the State to be concerned about Freemasonry‘s
political goals would turn up the following year in Damascus when master spy Eli Cohen was
apprehended. Having eluded Syrian intelligence for many years posing as an Arab, it was discovered that
Eli had been a Freemason in Egypt where he was born.