The history of

Freemasonry Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

stretches back to the 18th century under Ottoman imperial rule.

History

18th century

The first lodge in Turkey was probably established around 1721 in Istanbul by Levantines.Celil Layiktez.
The History of Freemasonry In Turkey
. Pietre-Stones Review of Freemasonry In 1748, Sultan Mahmud I outlawed Freemasonry in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

and since that time Freemasonry was equated with

atheism Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the Existence of God, existence of Deity, deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the ...

in the Ottoman Empire and the broader Islamic world.Layiktez, Cecil
Freemasonry in the Islamic World
, Pietre-Stones Review of Freemasonry, 1996

19th century

Freemasonry was legalised as a part of the Ottoman reforms in the 19th century. Although Freemasonry in Turkey can be traced into the 18th century, for much of that time it was limited to lodges under the jurisdiction of foreign grand lodges, and there was no independent Turkish Grand Lodge probably due to illegality. This changed in 1856, when after it was legalised the first Turkish Grand Lodge was established. Sultan Murad V was a member of the lodge, becoming the first and only Ottoman sultan to join. Masonic organizations were among the most important organizations active from 1875 to 1908.

20th and 21st centuries

The Grand Lodge came back in 1909 in Istanbul under a new administration. Because the Grand Lodge was used to operate in secret, it was banned in 1922, only to be re-established in 1925. In 1935, all Masonic lodges were banned on the ground that Masonic principles are incompatible with nationalistic policy. As a result of the repeated closures, the former Grand Lodge and its members were reluctant to support President Kemal Atatürk's reformist policies. In 1956, the Grand Lodge of Turkey was re-established in its current form and, together with the light introduction in 1962, recognition was granted by the Grand Lodges of New York and Scotland. In 1970, the Turkish Grand Lodge was recognized by the United Grand Lodge of England and the Grand Lodge of Ireland as a regular lodge. In 1964, after

Süleyman Demirel Sami Süleyman Gündoğdu Demirel (; 1 November 1924 – 17 June 2015) was a Turkish people, Turkish politician, engineer, and statesman who served as the List of Presidents of Turkey, 9th President of Turkey from 1993 to 2000. He previously serv ...

wrote a public letter declaring that he was not a Freemason in order to win the nomination of the presidency of the Justice Party, a split occurred within the ranks of the Grand Lodge, resulting in the 1966 creation of the Grand Lodge of Liberal Freemasons of Turkey, which is a

Continental Continental may refer to: Places * Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US * Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US Arts and entertainment * ''Continental'' (album), an album by Saint Etienne * Continen ...

-oriented body recognized by the Grand Orient de France, but not by the United Grand Lodge of England.

Anti-Freemasonry

The history of Freemasonry in Turkey has also included the furthering of

conspiracy theories A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy (generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation), when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * ...

by Islamists such as

Adnan Oktar Adnan Oktar (; born 2 February 1956), also known as Adnan Hoca or Harun Yahya, is a Turkish cult leader and Muslim televangelist. Between the 2000s and late 2010s, he was engaged in "a massive campaign" of proselytizing Westerners to Islam, pr ...

as well as

Necmettin Erbakan Necmettin Erbakan (29 October 1926 – 27 February 2011) was a Turkish politician and political theorist who served as the 23rd prime minister of Turkey from 1996 to 1997. He was pressured by the military to step down as prime minister and was la ...

and his movement Millî Görüş.

Masonic bodies in Turkey

There are several Grand Lodges and Grand Orients currently operating in Turkey.

Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Turkey

The Grand Lodge of Turkey () is the largest Masonic

Grand Lodge A Grand Lodge, also called Grand Orient, Obedience, or by another similar title, is a name for the overarching governing body of a fraternal or other similarly organized group in a given area, usually a city, state, or country. In Freemasonry A ...

, labouring in the three symbolic degrees of ancient Freemasonry. It was established in 1909 and consists of over 250 Lodges in 10 cities around Turkey; including 5 English speaking, 3 French speaking, 1 German speaking and 1 Greek speaking Lodges. As of 2020, it has around 17.000 members. Being in amity with 158 Grand Lodges around the world, the body is the sole representative of regular Freemasonry in Turkey. As a single-ritual jurisdiction, the Lodges on the roll of the Grand Lodge of Turkey uses the Turkish Ritual with stems from modern ritual of Scotland, as well as French and

Schröder Schröder (Schroeder) is a German language, German surname often associated with the Schröder family. Notable people with the surname include: * Arthur Schröder (1892–1986), German actor * Atze Schröder, stage name of German comedian Hubertu ...

rituals. Almost all Turkish Lodges meet on a bi-weekly basis. With the exception of Lodges situated at the Aegean and Mediterranean coastal towns, two to three months summer recess is customary.

Grand Lodge of Freemasons of Turkey

The Grand Lodge of Freemasons of Turkey (Turkish: ''Özgür Masonlar Büyük Locası'') was established in 1966 after a split from the Grand Lodge and follows the