| Shriners & Red Hats | Added: March-30-04 |
What's wrong with this picture? Islam is directly opposed to Christian principles and conduct. The god of Islam is not the God of the Bible (see question "Is Allah the God of the Bible?"). The great problem lies in the fact that many governing positions of the church collective are held by Masons including Shriners. (And we wonder why Islam is gaining such momentum today and the church world is becoming more and more corrupt.)
Good Works: The tenants of Islam are veiled behind the good works of helping crippled children. In "The Orlando Sentinel," 1986, is found:
"Shrine literature refers to the hospitals as the soul of the Shrine and the reason for Shrinedom. Yet Internal Revenue Service records indicate that the Shrine, the nation's richest charity, gives its 22 Shriners hospitals for crippled children less than a third of the millions of dollars it raises from the public each year."
"Estimates from available records also show that Shrine hospitals in 1984 received just 1 percent, or $182,000, of an estimated $17.5 million in profits from about 175 circuses."
It would seem more wise to contribute directly to Shriner hospitals, or better yet, to Christian hospitals. Noting that there are many perks for the potentates: Jewelry, gifts, trips, plus expenses, are given out once high office is secured.
Now for the Hat. Probably, the thing most people think of --other than "helping" crippled children-- when thinking of a Shriner is his peculiar red hat, called the Fez. It is always red. In Turkey, Morocco, Egypt and other Muslim countries, the red fez is the traditional headcover for men. The explanation for the red color appears to have its origins in blood....literally.
The tradition is that when the Christian city of Fez in Morocco was overrun by Muslims in the westward sweep of Islam, about 800 AD, there was a great slaughter of the Christian population. As many as 50,000 Christians, men, women, and children, were put to the sword that dark day in history and blood literally ran in the streets. The Muslim conquerors, celebrating the slaughter, dipped their wollen caps in the blood, turning them red, and wore them as a symbol of their victory. This apparently, is the origin of both the name ("fez") and the color (red) of the cap. If this is so (and apparently it is), every Shriner who puts on his red fez and wears it is commemorating (althought he probably doesn't know it) the slaughter of tens of thousands of Christians when the Christian city of Fez was converted by the sword to Islam. (Doesn't it seem odd that the Islamic expression of Freemasonry now "supports" children.)
As stated above, the Shrine is the Islamic expression of the Masonic system. Every Shriner takes his oath of obligation (a bloody, terrible death oath) kneeling before an Islamic altar on which is the Koran (not the Bible). He seals his oath by calling upon "Allah, the God of the Arab, God of Mohammed and the God of my fathers." and confesses in the ritual that "he who follows Islam follows truth." Again, with so many Christians involved in this cult, is it any wonder why Isalm is gaining such momentum today. It's sad. If one wishes to be a Shriner, he should separate himself from the church.
Muslims use the cresent moon and the sword as universal symbols as does the Shrine. The use of the crescent moon as the symbol for Islam, which is placed on the flags of Islamic nations and on the top of mosques and minarets, is a throwback to the days when Allah was worshipped as the moon god in Mecca. Islam was born in military conquest, and has historically made converts with the sword. Muhammad said, "The sword is the key of Heaven and Hell." Again, if one wishes to be a Shriner, or a Mason, he should separate himself from the church or else separate from the Lodge. The Bible says:
"Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelieves: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with Idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their god, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty" (II Corinthians 6:14-18).