The Mystical Principles Of Islamism; Or, A Lecture On The Derviches.

tween Ereemasonry and the Order of Bektash ; but ¦ when I asked him whether I could become a member of his Order , and how , he replied that I must be a believer in Hazretti Aali ( the 4 th direct Caliph ) , or , in other words , become a Mussulman of the Sheea , or , as called here , the " heterodox" rite . I regret to

have to add that this interesting Sheik , who had come to Constantinople partly on private business , and partly to obtain permission from the Government , and the means , to establish a Tekkeh here of his Order , has since died , without having been able to accomplish the latter object . I have also been told

that he designed , likewise , establishing a lodge of Ereemasons at Constantinople . I may here add , in connection with the supposed existence of Ereemasonry at Constantinople among Mussulmans , a singular occurrence which has been related to meviz . thatduring the reign of Sultan

, , , Selim , a Tekkeh was erected , temporarily , near to the Mosque of Eyoub , by a Mussulman traveller of high rank from India , similar to one scud to be still existing at Hyderabad , called a Eeranioosh-khanehr . Sultan Selim , it is said , was initiated in it , and it then ceased to exist under that name . It is still known here as

the Sirr Tekkehsee , or " Secret Lodge , " and is occupied , at the present time , by a Sheik of the [ Nakshibencl Order . At the period of the visit of the late Sheik from

Belgrade , I was little acquainted with the principles of his Order , aud those of the Derviches generally . Eew persons have done more than describe the forms of their worship , as seen at their performances . Writers on the Mohammedan religion have failed to touch upon the various rites of the Derviches , and

one would suppose that these were totally distinct from Islamism . No one has thought it worth his trouble to ascertain their origin , and connection with each other ; and few , if any , have regarded them as in any way resembling Ereemasonry . I have , since then , endeavoured to collect materials from the books

of the Derviches , ancl from other sources , for the compilation of a work exclusively on the subject . So little , as first said , has as yet been published about the Derviches , except meagre descriptions by travellers of their forms of worship , mostly of the Mevlevees , or so called " Turning Derviches , " and the

Euffaees , or "Howling Derviches , " that I have laboured under considerable difficulties , and been compelled to translate from the originals of the Eessalays , or " Eituals , " ancl some other works on the subject ; and , as there is much in these that is of a mystical natureandthereforedifficult to be understood b

, , , y those who have not made such writings a peculiar study , I required the aid of one well versed in them ( who has recently become a Ereemason ) to obtain a correct interpretation of their meaning .

The preceding remarks will serve as a preface to the information whieh I shall now proceed to give on the subject of the Derviches , and fear I shall greatly tax your patience whilst I detail their origin , much of which is connected with the earlier times of Mussulmanism ( it most probableven precedes them )

y ; the descent which they trace down to the present period ; to the mystical principles which are common to nearly all of their Orders ; to their dress , consistinc of their caps , girdle , and mantle ; to their peculiar forms of worship ; and finally to their initiation . I

have already mentioned their place of meeting by its common name of Tekkeh , a Persian word which may be interpreted by " convent " or " lodge " —more correctly the latter , for the Derviches are not monks , nor indeed is there anything monastic in Mohamedanism . The chief of a Tekkeh is commonly called a Sheik , or " Elder ; " but his proper title is Murchidor " Siritual

, p Director , " and his deputy , if he has one , is called [ Naib , or Khalifeh , "Proxy , " and "Successor . " The latter title is often conferred honorarily , and these become Sheiks in partibus , as they possess no Tekkehs of their own . All the members of a Tekkeh are called Muridsor those who seek to learnand

, , strive to obey the supreme will or commands of the Murchid . Beyond these there are generally no other officers in a Tekkeh . The Bektach Order possessed twelve nominal offices , representing the twelve Imaams . An Order is called a Tarifc or "Path , " and its founder is called a Peer . I may also add that the oldest Tekkeh

in a city , of the same denomination , is called the Asitan , or the " Court , " and superintends the others by right only of seniority . Eegarding their . origin , I may state that a learned Mussulman gentleman , now filling a high office in this Governmentsome time since informed me that he

be-, lieved the real origin of the mystical rites of the Derviches could be found in the theology or Pantheism of the ancient Greek philosophers , many of whose writings have existed in the Arabic language . This I can believe to be at least highly probable , and that their rites are connected with those of the most

remote of the secret mystical societies of the Eastthe birthplace of man , and the scene of his wanderings from the worship of the Creator , to that of Creation . The subject is , therefore , worthy of the most careful and thorough investigation . I have no doubt that the Pantheic sophistry of the Greeks is the basis of the Sufaism of the earlier Tariksor Paths

, , followed by the partizans of the two founders of the spiritual religion of the Moslems—that is , of the Caliphs Aba Bekir and Aali ; and that it was known among the people of Arabia before the advent of their great Prophet . It may have been well known to their talented and wonderful reformerand so entered into

, the Koran , either in confirmation of what he sanctioned , or in condemnation of what he deemed inconsistent with his purer worship of the Creator . Whatever cannot be traced to this source in Islamism is , I believe , chiefly of Hebrew origin , there being nothing in it that is Christian in point of

principle—though , indeed , to a Dervich , Christ may readily appear as a Peer , or founder of a new Tarik ; His twelve disciples as so many Murids : and the history of John the Baptist , with his singular costume , resemble even modern Eakirs . It may be added that some of the rites of the mystical Orders seem to have

been borrowed from India ; but it would be inopportune at this time to dilate further on the subject . Islamism , as is well known , is based upon the principle of the Oneness , or Unity of Allah , or God , to whom it commands a perfect submission . " Submission to God" is the meaning of the Arabic word Islam . * It is the chief principle of the Koran , or