|
Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Social groups & communities > Associations, clubs, societies > Freemasonry & secret societies
The Muslim Brotherhood in the West remains a mysterious entity. In
The Closed Circle, Lorenzo Vidino offers an unprecedented inside
view into how one of the world's most influential Islamist groups
operates. He marshals unique interviews with prominent former
members and associates from Europe, the United Kingdom, and North
America, shedding light on why and how people join and leave
Western outfits of the Muslim Brotherhood. Drawing on these
striking personal accounts, Vidino weaves together the experiences
of individuals who participated in and later renounced Brotherhood
groups. Their perspectives provide a wealth of new information
about the Brotherhood's secretive inner workings and the networks
that connecting the small yet highly organized cluster of
Brotherhood-influenced groups. The Closed Circle examines the
tactics the Brotherhood uses to recruit and retain participants as
well as how and why individuals make the difficult decision to
leave. Through the stories of diverse former members, Vidino paints
a portrait of a highly structured, tight-knit movement. His
unprecedented access and understanding of the group's activities
and motivations has significant policy implications concerning
Western Brotherhood organizations and also illuminates the
underlying mechanisms found in a range of extremist groups.
In this enthralling historical detective story, the authors of The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail trace the flight after 1309 of the Knights Templar from Europe to Scotland, where the Templar heritage was to take root, and would be perpetuated by a network of noble families. That heritage, and the Freemasonry that arose from it, became inseparable from the Stuart cause. The Temple and the Lodge charts the birth of Freemasonry through the survival of Templar traditions, through currents of European thought, through the mystery surrounding Rosslyn chapel, and through an elite cadre of aristocrats attached as personal bodyguards to the French king. Pursuing Freemasonry through the 17th and 18th Centuries, Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh reveal its contribution to the fostering of tolerance, progressive values, and cohesion in English society, which helped to pre-empt a French-style revolution. Even more dramatically, the influence of Freemasonry emerges as key facto in the formation of the United States of America as an embodiment of the ideal 'Masonic Republic'.
|
|