Abstract

Freemasonic activity in the Ottoman lands saw an unprecedented growth and dynamism in the final phase of Ottoman history particularly benefitting from its close association with the Young Turk movement and its political apparatus, the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP). Ottoman freemasonry was led to a new level of popularity with a great deal of public visibility, a consequence of which was the formation of the Ottoman Grand Orient as a national organization for the first time in the Ottoman lands. Despite the ensuing controversial accusations and conspiracy theories against the freemasonic institution which became commonplace during the period in question, it occupied a place within the Ottoman state and society which it had never attained before. This made it possible for the Ottoman freemasons to integrate themselves to the universal fraternal discourse of the freemasonic philosophy during a last attempt of the Ottoman administration to keep its remaining lands intact. The intention of this article is to create a window within the broader picture of the socio-political environment of the time with a view to the position and involvement of freemasonry in which its association with the CUP often stands out as a major factor.

摘要

奥斯曼帝国土地上的共济会活动在奥斯曼帝国历史的最后阶段出现了前所未有的增长和活力，特别是受益于它与青年土耳其运动及其政治机构联合与进步委员会 (CUP) 的密切联系。奥斯曼共济会的知名度上升到一个新的水平，公众知名度很高，其结果是奥斯曼大东方首次在奥斯曼土地上形成了一个全国性组织。尽管随之而来的是针对共济会机构的有争议的指控和阴谋论在所讨论的时期变得司空见惯，但它在奥斯曼帝国和社会中占据了前所未有的地位。这使得奥斯曼共济会在奥斯曼政府最后一次试图保持其剩余土地完好无损时，有可能将自己融入共济会哲学的普遍兄弟话语。这篇文章的目的是在更广泛的社会政治环境中创建一个窗口，以了解共济会的地位和参与，共济会与 CUP 的联系往往是一个主要因素。