![]() By the time of the 1888 Annual Session (convention) in Toronto, there were 7,210 members in 48 Temples located throughout the United States and one in Canada. ![]() An extensive publicity and recruiting campaign was initiated and it worked. The initiation ritual was embellished, as was the mythology about the fraternity. ![]() This governing body was called “The Imperial Grand Council of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine for the United States of America.” Fleming became the first Imperial Grand Potentate, and the new body established rules for membership and the formation of new Temples. Four years after the Shrine’s beginnings, there were only 43 Shriners, all but six of whom were from New York.ĭuring a meeting at The Mecca Temple on Ja new body was created to help spur the growth of the young fraternity. But the organization was not an instant success, even though a second Temple was chartered in Rochester in 1875. Moore, Assistant Rabban Edward Eddy, High Priest and Prophet George W. Noble Florence read a letter outlining the “history” of the Order, and giving advice on the conduct of meetings. The original 13 Masons of the Knickerbocker Cottage lunch group were named Charter Members of Mecca Temple. Fleming had completed the ritual and proposed that the first Temple be named Mecca. On Septemin the New York City Masonic Hall, the first Shrine Temple in the United States was organized. One of the earliest references to the headgear is in “Arabian Nights.” The name of the fez, or tarboosh, does not appear in Arabic literature until around the 14th century. Some historians claim it dates back to about 980 A.D. It derives its name from the place where it was first manufactured – the holy city of Fez, Morocco. The red fez with a black tassel, the Shrine’s official headgear, has been handed down through the ages. Fleming and his co-workers also formulated a salutation used today by Shriners – “Es Selamu Aleikum!” – meaning, “Peace be with you!” In returning the salutation, the gracious wish is “Aleikum Es Selaum,” which means “With you be peace.” Today, the Shrine emblem includes a scimitar from which the Crescent hangs, and a five-pointed star beneath the head of the sphinx.ĭr. The Jewel bears the motto “Robur et Furor”, which means “strength and Fury”. In the center is the head of a sphinx, and on the back are a pyramid, an urn and a star. Though any materials can be used in forming the Crescent, the most valuable are the claws of the Royal Bengal Tiger, united at their base in a gold setting. The Crescent was adopted as a Jewel of the Order. Rawson, prominent scholar and Mason who provided much of the Arabic background. McClenachan, lawyer and expert on Masonic Ritual William Sleigh Paterson, printer, linguist and ritualist and Albert L. The initiation rites, or ceremonials, were drafted by Fleming with the help of three Brother Masons: Charles T. With the help of other Knickerbocker Cottage regulars Fleming drafted the ritual, designed the emblem and ritual costumes, formulated a salutation, and declared that members would wear a red fez. While there is some question about the origin of the Fraternity’s name, it is probably more than coincidence that it’s initials, rearranged, spell out the words “A MASON”. Walter took those ideas and converted them into what would become the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (A.A.O.N.M.S.). In 1872 Walter Fleming, a 33 degree Scottish Rite Mason, took the ideas supplied by William Florence about the ceremonies he had attended in Algiers and Cairo.
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