baqqrih
Well-known member
I've just returned home from a very tiring day of loading junk that we received from a neighboring yard-sale just some miles east into my father's truck. Among that junk, I discovered that a family member of this neighbor's was a member of the local "Shriners" Masonic organization in Springfield, Missouri, a bit of a ways away from where I reside. A mysterious fez poked out among a little box of maps and jewelry in this yard, with the golden words "ABOU BEN ADHEM" ornately put upon it in big letters, and below it a strange collection of symbols, with a saber, a crescent, and a star all formulated into an orientalist collage, forming the symbol of the Shriners.
Within the underside of the fez was a small pin, smudged and old, but quickly catching the eye with its mystery. The phrase "LOOKING ALIVE IN 95" sat in little black letters under a smiley face, a face which wore the same fez, the same phrase "ABOU BEN ADHEM" also on it, alongside "SPRINGFIELD" below the little man's fez, showing that it belonged to the Springfield chapter of the Shriners. This pin was probably given out during some sort of gathering in 1995.
If you've ever driven through Springfield, you might have eventually acknowledged the massive mosque-like structure of the Shriners. It's one of their temples, nestled right in the city's center, across the street from the city's little billiards hall and to the left side of the large expo center. Sitting there with its two, large domes on either side of the front of its roof, and with various Middle-Eastern-style architectural features littered on its walls, a statue of a fez-wearing man sits out beside the entrance of the building, and in his hands, he holds a child. Behind him, on a curved wall, a quote in white letters reads "NO MAN STANDS SO TALL AS WHEN HE STOOPS TO HELP A CHILD". This is the slogan of the Shriners.
First, to understand that phrase that has come up both on the pin and the fez, "ABOU BEN ADHEM", we must understand a bit about the Shriners themselves. @nagolbud could very well know a lot about these Masons in general, and could be a great help in understanding these people, but, from what I know, the Shriners are a body of Freemasonry. Their icons, rituals, and motif are all based upon a Moorish and Egyptian culture that originates from the interests in orientalism held by their founder, Walter M. Fleming, who founded the Shriners to be a body of Freemasonry for those who had completed the Scottish Rite.
This phrase, "ABOU BEN ADHEM", also comes from this same cultural interest. The name comes from a poem of the same name that was written by Leigh Hunt, a British poet of the nineteenth century, who, in the poem, writes a story of a man in Arabia (likely based off of an actual Sufi mystic named Ibrahim bin Adham) encountering an angel of God and subsequently being inspired to find the love of God through kind acts to others. From the various philanthropic acts of the Shriners (their children's hospital network, most notably), it's clear to see the parallel of that tale of "finding God" plainly through acts of goodness and the many networks of charity that Freemasons operate on their surface.
Upon my father purchasing some saw blades, mechanical tools, and a vise, I also, taking interest in the fez and pin, asked the neighbor how much either of them would be, as there was no price tag on them. The neighbor smiled and said I was free to take them with no cost. I did not ask about the background of the objects because they were formerly in the possession of the deceased family member of the neighbors, some of whose stuff they were selling, and I did not want to bring up any emotional memories when I was already quite prepared to get home in the midst of the dry heat and the sweaty hardships of loading all of that junk into my father's truck already. However, the fez and pin now sit looking back at me, in my closet, somewhat ominously. I might stash either into the basement eventually, as they just give me a weird feeling. Still, if anyone has some more information on these Shriners that you’re aware of, share it here. I’m curious of them, of their non-surface background, of their rituals and their secretive practices, especially since they’re an organization of specifically Master Masons, already completers of the Scottish Rite.
Within the underside of the fez was a small pin, smudged and old, but quickly catching the eye with its mystery. The phrase "LOOKING ALIVE IN 95" sat in little black letters under a smiley face, a face which wore the same fez, the same phrase "ABOU BEN ADHEM" also on it, alongside "SPRINGFIELD" below the little man's fez, showing that it belonged to the Springfield chapter of the Shriners. This pin was probably given out during some sort of gathering in 1995.
If you've ever driven through Springfield, you might have eventually acknowledged the massive mosque-like structure of the Shriners. It's one of their temples, nestled right in the city's center, across the street from the city's little billiards hall and to the left side of the large expo center. Sitting there with its two, large domes on either side of the front of its roof, and with various Middle-Eastern-style architectural features littered on its walls, a statue of a fez-wearing man sits out beside the entrance of the building, and in his hands, he holds a child. Behind him, on a curved wall, a quote in white letters reads "NO MAN STANDS SO TALL AS WHEN HE STOOPS TO HELP A CHILD". This is the slogan of the Shriners.
First, to understand that phrase that has come up both on the pin and the fez, "ABOU BEN ADHEM", we must understand a bit about the Shriners themselves. @nagolbud could very well know a lot about these Masons in general, and could be a great help in understanding these people, but, from what I know, the Shriners are a body of Freemasonry. Their icons, rituals, and motif are all based upon a Moorish and Egyptian culture that originates from the interests in orientalism held by their founder, Walter M. Fleming, who founded the Shriners to be a body of Freemasonry for those who had completed the Scottish Rite.
This phrase, "ABOU BEN ADHEM", also comes from this same cultural interest. The name comes from a poem of the same name that was written by Leigh Hunt, a British poet of the nineteenth century, who, in the poem, writes a story of a man in Arabia (likely based off of an actual Sufi mystic named Ibrahim bin Adham) encountering an angel of God and subsequently being inspired to find the love of God through kind acts to others. From the various philanthropic acts of the Shriners (their children's hospital network, most notably), it's clear to see the parallel of that tale of "finding God" plainly through acts of goodness and the many networks of charity that Freemasons operate on their surface.
Upon my father purchasing some saw blades, mechanical tools, and a vise, I also, taking interest in the fez and pin, asked the neighbor how much either of them would be, as there was no price tag on them. The neighbor smiled and said I was free to take them with no cost. I did not ask about the background of the objects because they were formerly in the possession of the deceased family member of the neighbors, some of whose stuff they were selling, and I did not want to bring up any emotional memories when I was already quite prepared to get home in the midst of the dry heat and the sweaty hardships of loading all of that junk into my father's truck already. However, the fez and pin now sit looking back at me, in my closet, somewhat ominously. I might stash either into the basement eventually, as they just give me a weird feeling. Still, if anyone has some more information on these Shriners that you’re aware of, share it here. I’m curious of them, of their non-surface background, of their rituals and their secretive practices, especially since they’re an organization of specifically Master Masons, already completers of the Scottish Rite.