Editing Freemasonry (section)

===Religious opposition===
Freemasonry has attracted criticism from [[theocracy|theocratic]] states and organised religions that believe it is in competition with religion or perceive the fraternity's views or practices as [[heterodox]]; it has also long been the target of [[Masonic conspiracy theories|conspiracy theories]] that assert Freemasonry to be an [[occult]] and evil power.<ref>Morris, S. Brent; ''The Complete Idiot's Guide to Freemasonry,'' Alpha books, 2006, p. 204.</ref>

====Christianity and Freemasonry====
{{Main|Christian attitudes towards Freemasonry}}

Although members of various faiths cite objections, certain Christian [[religious denomination|denominations]] have had high-profile negative attitudes to Masonry, banning or discouraging their members from being Freemasons. The denomination with the longest history of objection to Freemasonry is the [[Catholic Church]]. The objections raised by the Catholic Church are based on the allegation that Masonry teaches a naturalistic [[deistic]] religion which is in conflict with Church [[doctrine]].<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=5285 | title = Letter of 19 April 1985 to U.S. Bishops Concerning Masonry | last = Cardinal Law | first = Bernard | author-link = Bernard Francis Law | access-date = 9 July 2007 | date = 19 April 1985 | work = CatholicCulture.org | archive-date = 16 July 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150716012933/http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=5285 | url-status = live }}</ref> More than 600 Papal pronouncements have been issued against Freemasonry.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ansa.it/oltretevere/notizie/2023/06/26/da-clemente-xii-a-ratzinger-i-papi-contro-la-massoneria_8f26e8e6-17c6-4e6a-b0ab-8ae0e21d039a.html|title=From Clement XII to Ratzinger, the Popes and Freemasonry|author=Emanuela Tulli|language=it|author2=Angela Pellicciari|author2-link=:it:Angela Pellicciari|publisher=[[Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata|ANSA]]|date=26 June 2023|archive-url=https://archive.today/20231209224543/https://www.ansa.it/oltretevere/notizie/2023/06/26/da-clemente-xii-a-ratzinger-i-papi-contro-la-massoneria_8f26e8e6-17c6-4e6a-b0ab-8ae0e21d039a.html|archive-date=9 December 2023|url-status=live}}</ref> The first was [[Pope Clement XII]]'s ''[[In eminenti apostolatus]],'' 28 April 1738; the most recent was [[Pope Francis]] in a letter by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith 13 November 2023.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2023-11/vatican-catholics-still-forbidden-masonic-lodge.html| title = Vatican confirms Catholics still forbidden to join Masonic lodges| date = 15 November 2023| access-date = 16 November 2023| archive-date = 16 November 2023| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20231116012447/https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2023-11/vatican-catholics-still-forbidden-masonic-lodge.html| url-status = live}}</ref>

The ''[[1917 Code of Canon Law]]'' explicitly declared that joining Freemasonry entailed automatic [[excommunication]] and banned books favouring Freemasonry.<ref name="canon2335">Canon 2335, 1917 Code of Canon Law from {{cite web | url = http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/anti-masonry/canon.html | title = Canon Law regarding Freemasonry, 1917–1983 | publisher = Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon | access-date = 11 May 2007 | archive-date = 5 January 2002 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20020105124356/http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/anti-masonry/canon.html | url-status = live }}</ref>

In 1983, the Church issued a new code of [[Canon law (Catholic Church)|canon law]]. Unlike its predecessor, the ''[[1983 Code of Canon Law]]'' did not explicitly name Masonic orders among the [[secret societies]] it condemns. It states: "A person who joins an association which plots against the Church is to be punished with a just penalty; one who promotes or takes office in such an association is to be punished with an [[Interdict (Roman Catholic Church)|interdict]]." This named omission of Masonic orders caused both Catholics and Freemasons to believe that the ban on Catholics becoming Freemasons may have been lifted, especially after the perceived liberalisation of [[Second Vatican Council|Vatican II]].<ref name="RCLaw">{{Cite journal | last = McInvale | first = Reid | year = 1991 | title = Roman Catholic Church Law Regarding Freemasonry | journal = Transactions of Texas Lodge of Research | volume = 27 | pages = 86–97 | url = http://bessel.org/cathtlor.htm | oclc = 47204246 | archive-date = 17 October 2015 | access-date = 26 November 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151017025442/http://bessel.org/cathtlor.htm | url-status = live }}</ref> However, the matter was clarified when Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (later [[Pope Benedict XVI]]), [[Joseph Ratzinger as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith|as the Prefect]] of the [[Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith]], issued a [[Declaration on Masonic Associations]], which states: "...&nbsp;the Church's negative judgment in regard to Masonic association remains unchanged since their principles have always been considered irreconcilable with the doctrine of the Church and therefore membership in them remains forbidden. The faithful who enroll in Masonic associations are in a state of grave sin and may not receive [[Holy Communion]]."<ref>[https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_19831126_declaration-masonic_en.html Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, Declaration on Masonic Associations] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010314042333/https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_19831126_declaration-masonic_en.html |date=14 March 2001 }}, 26 November 1983, retrieved 26 November 2015</ref> In 2023, [[Pope Francis]] reaffirmed the ban on Catholics becoming Freemasons stating the "[...] irreconcilability between Catholic doctrine and Freemasonry [...]"<ref>''Franciscus'', [https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_ddf_doc_20231113_richiesta-cortes-massoneria_en.pdf Dicasterium Pro Doctrina Fidei] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231115114045/https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_ddf_doc_20231113_richiesta-cortes-massoneria_en.pdf |date=15 November 2023 }}: Note for the audience with the Holy Father, Vatican City, 13 November 2023.</ref> in response to [[Julito Cortes]], [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Dumaguete|Bishop of]] [[Dumaguete|Dumanguete]], who stated concerns over the growing number of Freemasons in the [[Philippines]].<ref name=":7">{{Cite news |date=15 November 2023 |title=Vatican confirms Catholics still forbidden to join Masonic lodges |work=Vatican News |url=https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2023-11/vatican-catholics-still-forbidden-masonic-lodge.html |archive-date=16 November 2023 |access-date=16 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231116012447/https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2023-11/vatican-catholics-still-forbidden-masonic-lodge.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The renewed ban cited both the ''1983 Code of Canon Law'', as well as the ''Guidelines'' made by a Bishops Conference in 2003.<ref name=":7" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Rojas |first=Jose R. |date=20 February 2020 |title=Pastoral guidelines in dealing with individual Catholics – members of Masonry |work=CBCPNews |url=https://cbcpnews.net/cbcpnews/pastoral-guidelines-in-dealing-with-individual-catholics-members-of-masonry/ |archive-date=27 February 2025 |access-date=16 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250227172852/https://cbcpnews.net/cbcpnews/pastoral-guidelines-in-dealing-with-individual-catholics-members-of-masonry/ |url-status=live }}</ref> For its part, Freemasonry has never objected to Catholics joining their fraternity. Those Grand Lodges in amity with the United Grand Lodge of England deny the Church's claims, stating that "Freemasonry does not seek to replace a Mason's religion or provide a substitute for it."<ref name="UGLEFAQ" />

In contrast to Catholic allegations of rationalism and naturalism, Protestant objections are more likely to be based on allegations of [[mysticism]], [[occultism]], and even [[Satanism]].<ref name=Satanism >{{cite web |url=http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0093/0093_01.asp |title=The Curse of Baphomet |access-date=29 September 2007 |author=Jack Chick |archive-date=11 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511173845/http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0093/0093_01.asp |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=Chick is a primary source for Protestant beliefs and may not represent all Protestants, causing reliability and due weight issues|date=June 2024}} Masonic scholar [[Albert Pike]] is often quoted (in some cases misquoted) by Protestant anti-Masons as an authority for the position of Masonry on these issues.<ref>{{cite book|author=Arturo de Hoyos and S. Brent Morris|title=Is it True What They Say About Freemasonry, 2nd edition (revised), chapter 1|publisher=M. Evans & Company|year=2004|url=http://204.3.136.66/web/SRpublications/DeHoyos.htm#i8|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202094337/http://204.3.136.66/web/SRpublications/DeHoyos.htm#i8|archive-date=2 December 2013}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=Book was written by Freemasons in defense of Freemasonry, leading to risk of bias; should be replaced with neutral academic source|date=June 2024}}  However, Pike, although undoubtedly learned, was not a spokesman for Freemasonry and was also controversial among Freemasons in general. His writings represented his personal opinion only, and furthermore, an opinion grounded in the attitudes and understandings of late 19th century Southern Freemasonry of the US. Notably, his book carries in the preface a form of disclaimer from his own Grand Lodge. No one voice has ever spoken for the whole of Freemasonry.<ref>{{Cite book| last1 = Pike | first1 = Albert | author-link1 = Albert Pike | author2 = T. W. Hugo; Scottish Rite (Masonic order). Supreme Council of the Thirty-Third Degree for the Southern Jurisdiction | title = Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry | location = Washington, DC | publisher = House of the Temple | year = 1950 | orig-year = 1871 | oclc = 12870276 | quote = In preparing this work [Pike] has been about equally Author and Compiler. (p. iii.) ... The teachings of these Readings are not sacramental, so far as they go beyond the realm of Morality into those of other domains of Thought and Truth. The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite uses the word "Dogma" in its true sense of doctrine, or teaching; and is not dogmatic in the odious sense of that term. Everyone is entirely free to reject and dissent from whatsoever herein may seem to him to be untrue or unsound (p. iv) }}</ref>

In 1993, the [[Southern Baptist Convention]]'s Home Mission Board determined that some parts of freemasonry are incompatible with Christianity, while others are compatible, concluding that participation in freemasonry should be considered "a matter of personal conscience".<ref>{{cite web | url=https://jeffstraub.net/baptists-and-freemasonry-can-a-christian-be-a-faithful-believer-and-be-a-freemason/ | title=Baptists and Freemasonry? Can a Christian be a Faithful Believer and be a Freemason? &#124; Jeff Straub | access-date=16 January 2024 | archive-date=16 January 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240116071016/https://jeffstraub.net/baptists-and-freemasonry-can-a-christian-be-a-faithful-believer-and-be-a-freemason/ | url-status=live }}</ref> The topic of Freemasonry remains controversial within the convention. James L. Holly, president of Mission and Ministry to Men, published a three volume book series titled "The Southern Baptist Convention and Freemasonry", critiquing the report to the [[Southern Baptist Convention]] in addition to the influence of Gary Leazer, then Director of the Interfaith Witness Department of the [[North American Mission Board]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ericbarger.com/articles/fmasonry-sbc.2.htm | title=FREEMASONRY AND THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CHURCH Part 2 | access-date=16 January 2024 | archive-date=16 January 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240116071016/https://www.ericbarger.com/articles/fmasonry-sbc.2.htm | url-status=live }}</ref> Gary Leazer published "Fundamentalism and Freemasonry", arguing that the convention's discussion of Freemasonry was influenced by [[Southern Baptist Convention conservative resurgence]].

[[Free Methodist Church]] founder [[B.T. Roberts]] was a vocal opponent of Freemasonry in the mid 19th century. Roberts opposed the society on moral grounds and stated, "The god of the lodge is not the [[God in Abrahamic religions|God of the Bible]]." Roberts believed Freemasonry was a "[[Greco-Roman mysteries|mystery]]" or "alternate" religion and encouraged his church not to support ministers who were Freemasons. Freedom from secret societies is one of the "frees" upon which the Free Methodist Church was founded.<ref>{{Cite book| last = Snyder | first = Howard | title = Populist Saints | location = [[Grand Rapids, Michigan]]| publisher = William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company | year = 2006| page = 727}}</ref>

Since the founding of Freemasonry, many Bishops of the [[Church of England]] have been Freemasons, including [[Archbishop]] [[Geoffrey Fisher]].<ref>{{Cite journal | last = Beresiner | first = Yasha | date = July 2006 | title = Archbishop Fisher&nbsp;– A Godly man and a Brother | journal = Masonic Quarterly Magazine | issue = 18 | url = http://www.mqmagazine.co.uk/issue-18/p-07.php?PHPSESSID=c59cd231db419873a6a6 | access-date = 7 May 2007 | archive-date = 28 September 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070928003240/http://www.mqmagazine.co.uk/issue-18/p-07.php?PHPSESSID=c59cd231db419873a6a6 | url-status = live }}</ref> In the past, few members of the Church of England would have seen any incongruity in concurrently adhering to Anglican Christianity and practising Freemasonry. In recent decades, however, reservations about Freemasonry have increased within Anglicanism, perhaps due to the increasing prominence of the evangelical wing of the church. The former [[archbishop of Canterbury]], [[Rowan Williams|Dr Rowan Williams]], appeared to harbour some reservations about Masonic ritual, while being anxious to avoid causing offence to Freemasons inside and outside the Church of England. In 2003 he felt it necessary to apologise to British Freemasons after he said that their beliefs were incompatible with Christianity and that he had barred the appointment of Freemasons to senior posts in his diocese when he was Bishop of Monmouth.<ref>{{Cite news | url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/04/20/nmason20.xml&sSheet=/news/2003/04/20/ixhome.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071123132655/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2003%2F04%2F20%2Fnmason20.xml&sSheet=%2Fnews%2F2003%2F04%2F20%2Fixhome.html | archive-date = 23 November 2007 | title = Rowan Williams apologises to Freemasons | first = Chris | last = Hastings | author2 = Elizabeth Day | work = [[The Daily Telegraph]] | date = 20 April 2003 | access-date = 9 July 2007 | url-status=dead | df = dmy-all }}</ref>

In 1933, the [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] [[Church of Greece]] officially declared that being a Freemason constitutes an act of [[Apostasy in Christianity|apostasy]] and thus, until he repents, the person involved with Freemasonry cannot partake of the [[Eucharist]]. This has been generally affirmed throughout the whole Eastern Orthodox Church. The Orthodox critique of Freemasonry agrees with both the Catholic and Protestant versions: "Freemasonry cannot be at all compatible with Christianity as far as it is a secret organisation, acting and teaching in mystery and secret and deifying rationalism."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/masonry.aspx |title=Freemasonry: Official Statement of the Church of Greece (1933) |publisher=Orthodoxinfo.com |date=12 October 1933 |access-date=15 January 2011 |archive-date=6 January 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110106224241/http://orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/masonry.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref>

Regular Freemasonry has traditionally not responded to these claims, beyond the often-repeated statement that Freemasonry explicitly adheres to the principle that "Freemasonry is not a religion, nor a substitute for religion. There is no separate 'Masonic deity,' and there is no separate proper name for a deity in Freemasonry."<ref name="a religion?">{{cite web|url=http://grandlodgeofiowa.org/docs/Freemasonry_Religion/FreemasonryAndReligion.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105085828/http://grandlodgeofiowa.org/docs/Freemasonry_Religion/FreemasonryAndReligion.pdf |archive-date=2013-11-05 |url-status=live |title=Freemasonry and Religion |access-date=2 November 2013 |publisher=United Grand Lodge of England}}</ref>

Christian men, who were discouraged from joining the Freemasons by their Churches or who wanted a more religiocentric society, joined similar fraternal organisations, such as the [[Knights of Columbus]] and [[Knights of Peter Claver]] for Catholics, and the [[Royal Black Institution]] for Protestants,<ref name="Fields1980">{{cite book|last=Fields|first=Rona M.|title=Northern Ireland: Society Under Siege|date=1980|publisher=Transaction Publishers|isbn=978-1412845090|page=113}}<!--|access-date=11 August 2015--></ref> although these fraternal organisations have been "organized in part on the style of and use many symbols of Freemasonry".<ref name="Fields1980"/>

There are some elements of Freemasonry within the [[temple (Latter Day Saints)|temple rituals]] of [[Freemasonry and Mormonism|Mormonism]].

====Islam and Freemasonry====
{{Unreliable sources section|date=December 2022}}

Ottoman Caliph [[Mahmud I]] outlawed Freemasonry in the [[Ottoman Empire]] in 1748 and since that time Freemasonry was equated with [[atheism]] in the [[Ottoman Empire]] and the broader Islamic world.<ref name=FitIW>Layiktez, Cecil "[http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/layiktez1.html Freemasonry in the Islamic World] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190801073731/http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/layiktez1.html |date=1 August 2019 }}", Pietre-Stones Review of Freemasonry, 1996</ref>

Many [[Islamic]] anti-Masonic arguments are closely tied to [[Judeo-Masonic conspiracy theory|antisemitic conspiracy theories]], though other criticisms are made, such as linking Freemasonry to [[Al-Masih ad-Dajjal]] (the false Messiah in Islamic Scripture).<ref name="freemasonryinSHIraq"/><ref name="SFMNAD">{{Cite book | url = http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/prescott03.html | title = The Study of Freemasonry as a New Academic Discipline | pages = 13–14 | first = Andrew | last = Prescott | access-date = 18 December 2008 | archive-date = 13 February 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090213214218/http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/prescott03.html | url-status = live }}</ref> [[Syrians|Syrian]]-[[Egyptians|Egyptian]] Islamic theologian [[Rashid Rida|Mūhammād Rashīd Ridâ]] (1865–1935) played the crucial role in leading the opposition to Freemasonry across the [[Muslim world|Islamic world]] during the early twentieth century.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Rickenbacher|first=Daniel|date=6 December 2019|title=The 'War Against Islam': How a Conspiracy Theory Drove and Shaped the Islamist Movement|url=https://eeradicalization.com/the-war-against-islam-how-a-conspiracy-theory-drove-and-shaped-the-islamist-movement/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818054514/https://eeradicalization.com/the-war-against-islam-how-a-conspiracy-theory-drove-and-shaped-the-islamist-movement/|archive-date=18 August 2021}}</ref> Influenced by Rida, Islamic anti-Masons argue that Freemasonry promotes the interests of the Jews around the world and that one of its aims is to destroy the [[Al-Aqsa|Al-Aqsa Mosque compound]] in order to rebuild the [[Temple of Solomon]] in [[Jerusalem]].<ref>[http://wakeupfromyourslumber.com/node/4119 "Can a Muslim be a Freemason"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140329180953/http://wakeupfromyourslumber.com/node/4119 |date=29 March 2014 }} ''Wake up from your slumber'', 2007, retrieved 8 January 2014</ref> Through his popular [[Pan-Islamism|pan-Islamic]] journal ''[[Al-Manār (magazine)|Al-Manar]]'', Rashid Rida spread anti-Masonic ideas which would directly influence the [[Muslim Brotherhood]] and subsequent Islamist movements, such as [[Hamas]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Rickenbacher|first=Daniel|date=6 December 2019|title=The 'War Against Islam': How a Conspiracy Theory Drove and Shaped the Islamist Movement|url=https://eeradicalization.com/the-war-against-islam-how-a-conspiracy-theory-drove-and-shaped-the-islamist-movement/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818054514/https://eeradicalization.com/the-war-against-islam-how-a-conspiracy-theory-drove-and-shaped-the-islamist-movement/|archive-date=18 August 2021 }}</ref> In article 28 of its Covenant, [[Hamas]] states that Freemasonry, [[Rotary International|Rotary]], and other similar groups "work in the interest of Zionism and according to its instructions ..."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/hamas.asp |title=Hamas Covenant 1988 |publisher=Avalon.law.yale.edu |date=18 August 1988 |access-date=15 January 2011 |archive-date=17 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117074547/http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/hamas.asp |url-status=live }}</ref>

Several predominantly Muslim countries have banned Freemasonry within their borders, while others have not. [[Turkey]] and [[Morocco]] have established Grand Lodges,<ref>Leyiktez, Celil. [http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/layiktez1.html "Freemasonry in the Islamic World"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190801073731/http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/layiktez1.html |date=1 August 2019 }}, ''Pietre-Stones'' Retrieved 2 October 2007.</ref> while in countries such as [[Malaysia]]<ref>[http://dglea.org/ "Home Page", ''District Grand Lodge of the Eastern Archipelago''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140109161530/http://dglea.org/ |date=9 January 2014 }}, retrieved 9 January 2014</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thestar.com.my/Story.aspx/?file=%2F2005%2F4%2F17%2Ffocus%2F10649415&sec=focus |date=17 April 2005 |access-date=13 February 2014 |title=Mystery unveiled |work=The Star Online |archive-date=27 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140227051801/http://www.thestar.com.my/Story.aspx/?file=%2F2005%2F4%2F17%2Ffocus%2F10649415&sec=focus |url-status=dead }}</ref> and [[Lebanon]],<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20130822221554/http://freemasonlb.net/Lodges.html ''Freemasonry in Lebanon'']}} Lodges linked to the Grand Lodge of Scotland, retrieved 22 August 2013</ref> there are District Grand Lodges operating under a warrant from an established Grand Lodge. In 1972, in [[Pakistan]], [[Zulfikar Ali Bhutto|Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto]], then [[Prime Minister of Pakistan]], placed a ban on Freemasonry. Lodge buildings were confiscated by the government.<ref>[http://www.dawn.com/news/508406/masonic-mystique Peerzada Salman, "Masonic Mystique"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200214091520/https://www.dawn.com/news/508406/masonic-mystique |date=14 February 2020 }}, December 2009, ''Dawn.com'' (News site), retrieved 3 January 2012</ref>

Masonic lodges existed in [[Iraq]] as early as 1917, when the first lodge under the [[United Grand Lodge of England]] (UGLE) was opened. Nine lodges under UGLE existed by the 1950s, and a Scottish lodge was formed in 1923. However, the position changed following the revolution, and all lodges were forced to close in 1965.<ref>[http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/freemasonry-islamic-countries.html Kent Henderson, "Freemasonry in Islamic Countries"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113180408/http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/freemasonry-islamic-countries.html |date=13 November 2013 }}, 2007 paper, ''Pietre Stones'', retrieved 4 January 2014</ref> This position was later reinforced under [[Saddam Hussein]]; the death penalty was "prescribed" for those who "promote or acclaim Zionist principles, including freemasonry, or who associate [themselves] with Zionist organisations."<ref name="freemasonryinSHIraq" />