The Master Game

by Graham Hancock

  Quds Day is the day for announcing such things, for announcing such things to the Satans who want to push the Islamic nations aside and bring the superpowers into the arena. Quds Day is the day to dash their hopes and warn them that those days are gone …

  Quds Day is the day of Islam; it is the day when Islam should be revived, so let us revive it and implement Islamic laws in the Islamic countries. Quds Day is the day when we must warn all the superpowers that they can no longer keep Islam under their control by means of their evil agents. Quds Day is the day to give life to Islam. The Muslims must awaken, they must come to realise the power they have, the material power and the spiritual. What are the Muslims, who form a population of one billion, enjoy divine support and have Islam and their faith behind them, afraid of? …

  The governments in the world should know that Islam will not be defeated. Islam and the teachings of the Qur'an should prevail in all countries. Religion should be the religion of God and Islam is the religion of God so it should advance on all regions of the world. Quds Day is the day to announce such a matter, the day to announce ‘Muslims, advance!’ Advance on all the regions of the world …35 with our cries and shouts of ‘Allah'u Akbar’ [‘God is Great’] …36

  Flash forward to 2001: Masonic Oath?

  We recall that in 1740 the Chevalier Ramsay, a Scotsman and Jacobean, created a Masonic order in France which he claimed had its roots in the Crusades and which, some believe, was the precursor to Scottish Rite Freemasonry – today headquartered in Washington, DC. Meanwhile Bin Laden's rhetoric, and the threats, accusations and attacks against Freemasons cited leave little doubt that Islamic fundamentalists regard America as a Masonic-crusading power whose ally in the Middle East is Israel.

  Such perceptions could only have been heightened in January 2001 when the following newspaper article was circulated by the Associated Press: A Bible that George Washington used to take the oath of office as the nation's first president will be used by George W. Bush. Three officials of the Manhattan-based St. John's Lodge of the Free and Accepted Masons will board an Amtrak liner for Washington, DC, tomorrow. They'll be carrying the nine-pound, 234-year-old King James Bible in a special case. For the sixth time in history, the Bible will be used on Saturday for the swearing in of a US president. George Washington was the first, in 1789. The last was George H. W. Bush, who used the Bible in 1989. Other presidents who have placed their left hand on the Masonic Bible were Warren Harding in 1921, Dwight Eisenhower in 1953, and Jimmy Carter in 1977. The Bible was also displayed at the New York World's Fair in 1964 – 65.37

  When we consider the symbolic implications of all this for Muslims already paranoid about a supposed Masonic-Zionist plot, a new and extraordinary possibility presents itself.

  It is the norm for the entrances to Masonic temples and lodges to be flanked by two pillars representing the twin pillars of Solomon's Temple, namely Boaz and Jachin – meaning ‘wisdom’ and ‘power’. The so-called Plan of Lodges also incorporates these pillars as well as a five-pointed star or pentagon symbolising the Holy of Holies of Solomon's Temple. Indeed the Temple of Solomon, and its rebuilding in a spiritual manner, is probably the most important symbol representing the ideal of Freemasonry in the world today.

  Could it be that the attacks on the Twin Towers at the ‘entrance’ of America, i.e. New York, and on the Pentagon – the ‘Holy of Holies’ of US military power – were intended, at least in part, as a coded symbolic message aimed at imagined Templar-crusaders or Zionist-Masons … or both?

  Was 9/11 the latest move in the millennia-old ‘Master Game’ – a move that demonstrates, more than any other, that all the players have now utterly lost their way?

  ‘Jihad’ or ‘Crusade’?

  At a press conference given on the south lawn of the White House on 16 September 2001, five days after the attack on the Twin Towers and Pentagon, President George W. Bush said: We need to go back to work tomorrow and we will. But we need to be alert to the fact that these evil-doers still exist. We haven't seen this kind of barbarism in a long period of time … This is a new kind of evil. And we understand. And the American people are beginning to understand. This crusade, this war on terrorism is going to take a while. And the American people must be patient. I’m going to be patient. But I can assure the American people I am determined, I’m not going to be distracted, I will keep my focus to make sure that not only are these brought to justice, but anybody who's been associated will be brought to justice … It is time for us to win the first war of the 21st century decisively, so that our children and our grandchildren can live peacefully into the 21st century.38

  On 16 February 2002, the president used the same rhetoric: I want to tell you something, we've got no better friends than Canada. They stand with us in this incredibly important crusade to defend freedom, this campaign to do what is right for our children and our grandchildren.39 [Emphasis added]

  On 7 September 2002, Counterpunch editor Alexander Cockburn published an article titled ‘The Tenth Crusade’ in which he wrote: Islamic fanatics flew those planes a year ago and here we are with a terrifying alliance of Judaeo-Christian fanatics, conjoined in their dreams of the recovery of the Holy Lands of the West Bank, Judaea and Samaria. War on Terror? It's back to the late thirteenth century, picking up where Prince Edward left off with his ninth crusade after St. Louis had died in Tunis with the word ‘Jerusalem’ on his lips.40

  And James Pinkerton, a columnist in Newsday commented on 4 December 2003, And now, in 2003, the Americans, the Twelfth Crusaders. The West is no longer ‘Christendom,’ but we, as first cousins to the Europeans, retain the old faith and bring new kinds of idealism, such as democracy and human rights. But the Crusader spirit is still there; it's still about bringing civilization and salvation of a backward people. As the born-again George W. Bush says, ‘This is about good vs. evil.’41

  From the Crusades to Al Qaeda

  In November 2010, a spine-chilling statement was made on Internet by the self-styled Islamic state of Iraq (ISI), Al Qaeda's front in Iraq: [ISI] declares all Christian centers, organizations and institutions, leaders and followers, are legitimate targets for Mujahideen [Muslim holy warriors] wherever they can reach them … The killing sword will not be lifted from the necks of the [Vatican leaders] and their followers until they declare their innocence from what the Egyptian Church is doing.42

  Al Qaeda's allegation was that Muslim women ‘were being held against their will in Coptic Christian monasteries in Egypt’.43 Although the charge sounds most improbable, the gruesome inevitable soon happened. On 31 October 2010, just hours after the ‘statement’ was put on the Internet, a group of fanatical SIS ‘Muslim Warriors’ stormed into the Our Lady of Salvation church in the Karrada neighborhood of central Baghdad. A hundred hostages were taken and the whole bizarre incident ended with the death of 58 people. Threats were then made directly towards Christian churches in Egypt and elsewhere in the Middle East.

  In a garbled ‘good-cop, bad-cop’ reaction, the official Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt (ironically, the root organization from which Islamic Jihad, Hamass and Al Qaeda all sprang) quickly issued a statement: The Muslim Brotherhood is stressing to all, and primarily Muslims, that the protection of Holy Places of all monotheistic religions is the mission of the majority of Muslims … The Brotherhood rejects all stupid threats against Christian places of worship in Egypt by anyone and under any pretext.44

  On face value the Muslim Brotherhood must be lauded for its swift condemnation of such threats and attacks on Christian establishments. Yet it is well known that for the past 60 years the Copts (Christians) of Egypt, have suffered almost continuous persecution at the hands of the Muslim Brotherhood. An exodus of almost biblical proportions has taken place and huge numbers of Copts have fled Egypt to settle in the Western world .45

  Meanwhile in Baghdad a series of booby-trap bomb attacks on Christian families took place in November 2010 in the days after the terrible massacre at the Our Lady of Salv
ation church. According to the Guardian newspaper, Christians in Iraq now regret the downfall of Saddam Hussein, saying that ‘for all his atrocities, the dictator left the Christians alone’. According to one Christian Iraqi woman, Linda Jalal: We didn't suffer under him [Saddam Husein]. But now I am terrified to live in this society. We are being slaughtered like sheep. Yet we are civilians in our country.46

  And on 31 December 2010, as hundreds of Copts were coming out of a church in the Sidi Bishr district of Alexandria, a powerful carbomb exploded killing twenty-one people and injuring dozens of others. Unconfirmed reports indicated that Al Qaeda was behind this murderous act following its recent threat against Christians.

  Infuriated by this act of senseless terrorism, Christian youths in Alexandria went on a rampage and attacked a nearby local mosque. Mayhem followed as sectarian tension was pushed to breaking point. And although the riot police was able to restore calm, a very uneasy mood fell across the whole of Egypt.47

  Not only in Iraq and Egypt, but across the Middle East and indeed in the Muslim world as a whole, Christians increasingly live in fear, not knowing when some fanatic might decide to see them as a ‘legitimate target’. The corollary is that in the predominantly Christian West, Muslims are now regarded with ever growing suspicion as they go about their daily lives. If there was any doubt that what is going on is a modern religious crusade, these recent troubling incidents have settled the matter.

  Yet this is not the end; and in the famous words of Winston Churchill, ‘It is not even the beginning of the end.’ There will unfortunately be more such gruesome attacks, perhaps not only by Muslim fanatics on Christian ‘targets’ but also by Christian (or Jewish) fanatics on Muslim ‘targets’.

  Unless the ‘crusading’ undercurrent to these events is understood, and successfully defused, the root of the problem will persist, and will continue to create new factions, even if Al Qaeda is totally eliminated. In the somber words of Dr. Lucy-Anne Hunt, head of the School of History of Art and Design at Manchester Metropolitan University: The motif of the crusader is an integral element of the historical memory. Among the Muslims, it will evoke reminiscences of crimes committed by the West in the past within seconds. On both sides, it has a reliably polarizing effect and demonizes the enemy. And it suggests that aggressive action is justified since it is willed by God … President Bush referred to it when opting for the recent war in Iraq. This appeal to Godgiven authority fits in with the simple choice given here: if you're not with us, you're against us. Conversely, in their attacks on Western targets, extreme Muslim groups have also accepted casualties among Muslims, as in the London bombings … This polarization demonstrates that the need for ongoing dialogue and negotiation, albeit a painstaking and slow process, is ever more crucial.48

  In other words, God must be made to step aside in this ever-growing conflict, and secular moderate heads of state must begin to speak out and drum some sense into the religious leaders and radical groups on both sides. This is the first and major step in stopping this runaway train that is slowly but surely leading us all into a world conflict which no nation, no religious group, nor even the human race as a whole can win.

  APPENDIX

  THE GREAT PYRAMID AND FREEMASONRY

  (Publisher's note: much of the information in this appendix is culled from Robert Bauval's book, Secret Chamber: The Quest for the Hall of Records, Chapter 8).

  Millennium Madness and the Great Pyramid

  Amid accusations of a ‘Zionist’ plot and ‘Masonic’ machinations, the Egyptian government cancelled the placing of a golden capstone on top of the Great Pyramid of Giza scheduled for the eve of the new millennium at midnight on 31 December 1999.

  Oddly enough, the strange circumstances that led to this bizarre scandal had their origins in France on 14 May 1998 when a golden capstone was unveiled on top of the ancient Egyptian obelisk at the Place de la Concorde in Paris.

  Guests of honor at the ceremony included Egypt's ambassador to France, Dr. Maher el Sayed, French minister of culture and communication, Catherine Trautmann and other dignitaries. The event took place during an official visit of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to France, with Egypt's minister of culture, Farouk Hosni, and the antiquities’ chairman, Dr. Ali Gaballah in attendance. A commemorative plaque was fixed on the base of the obelisk which reads: This obelisk, offered by Egypt to France in 1830, to serve eternally as a bond between the two countries, has been dressed by its pyramidion of origin on 14 May 1998, under the presidency of Jacques Chirac in the presence of Catherine Trautmann, minister of culture and communication, and Dr. Maher El Sayed, ambassador of Egypt for the occasion of the Year France-Egypt ‘Shared Horizons’ and the visit of the president of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak. The monument thus restored is dedicated to Jean-François Champollion, founder of Egyptology, who chose it from the temple of Luxor. This pyramidion is realized thanks to the support of Yves Saint Laurent, Pierre Bergé and the House of Yves Saint Laurent.1

  The name of the famous fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent and his ex-lover Pierre Bergé naturally attracted our attention. There was much controversy on the internet surrounding Yves Saint Laurent regarding a very weird publication he was involved with in 1967, namely a type of comic book for children titled La Vilaine Lulu which has be described as a Satanic-cum-Masonic manual by advocates of conspiracy theories and the so-called Illuminati. The book concerns a young girl called Lulu who, among other warped actions, goes around decapitating, hanging and burning people. As for Pierre Bergé, we discovered a very intriguing connection with Zionism that, to say the very least, makes his name on the obelisk's plaque most disturbing. Bergé is one of France's most notorious billionaires and philanthropists, as well as having once been a keen and active supporter of François Mitterrand during his presidential campaigns. Co-founder of the Yves Saint Laurent empire and one-time director of the Paris Opera, Bergé is a well know patron of the arts and, partly because of his Jewish faith, a staunch crusader against anti-Semitism. Bergé is the founder of the Musée Dreyfus at the Maison Zola, opening in 2012.

  The Musée Dreyfus, as the name implies, is dedicated to Alfred Dreyfus, a French artillery officer of Alsatian Jewish origins who, in 1894, was condemned to life imprisonment by a military court for allegedly spying for Germany. This famous ‘Dreyfus Affair’ exposed the obvious anti-Semitism in France at the time and split the nation into a huge controversial debate when the writer Émile Zola published his celebrated open letter ‘J’accuse …!’ in the French newspaper L’Aurore in January 1898. It is also well-known that the Dreyfus Affair was the catalyst that was to give birth to Zionism. This happened when Theodore Herzl, then a young journalist and the Paris correspondent for the German newspaper Neue Freie Presse, followed the story of Alfred Dreyfus and was so incensed with the anti-Semitism that surrounded the affair and the French crowd's chanting ‘death to the Jews’ that he organized the First Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland, in 1897. The connection of Pierre Bergé with the Dreyfus Affair, and his involvement in 1998 with the bizarre ceremony at the Place de la Concorde in Paris when a golden capstone was placed on the Egyptian obelisk makes the choice date, i.e. 14 May 1998 (the 50-year jubilee of the State of Israel), unlikely to be a ‘coincidence’.2

  This authentic ancient Egyptian obelisk, as we have seen in Chapter 1, was taken from the temple of Luxor in Upper Egypt in 1831 under the orders of Charles X, and raised in the Place de la Concorde in 1836 in celebrations attended by a crowd of more than 200,000 people. Charles X was a staunch Freemason, and it was (and still is) suspected it was the Masonic lodges that were really behind the bringing of the obelisk to France, as was also the case with those obelisks later taken out of Egypt to London and New York by British and American Freemasons.

  The ‘London’ obelisk, or Cleopatra's Needle as it is more commonly known in Britain, was commissioned and paid for by a prominent Freemason, Sir Erasmus Wilson, and the raising ceremony was attend by hundreds of Freemason
s in September 1878 under the auspices of the Prince of Wales, the Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England.

  That same year former US President Ulysses S. Grant3 and General William T. Sherman suggested, during a trip to Egypt, that America should also have an ancient Egyptian obelisk.4 Henry Honychurch Gorringe,5 a prominent American Freemason, was selected for the task of bringing the obelisk to New York. The obelisk was raised in October 1880 outside the newly built Metropolitan Museum of Art, with nearly ten thousand Freemasons attending the ceremony in full Masonic regalia.6

  It is one of those strange coincidences of history that on 14 May 1998, when President Mubarak and his retinue attended the capping of the obelisk in the Place de la Concorde, huge celebrations were simultaneously underway in Tel Aviv marking the 50-year jubilee of the Declaration of the State of Israel. On the same day Egyptian culture minister Farouk Hosni told the French press that a ceremony similar to the capping of the obelisk would take place in Egypt for the millennial celebrations at which point a golden capstone would be placed on the Great Pyramid of Giza: We cannot rebuild the pyramids stone by stone, so we have chosen a symbolic event like the ancient Egyptians did when they used to cap obelisks [and] like what the French did at the Place de la Concorde.7