Sir Richard Burton: “Sufi-ism [was] the Eastern parent of Freemasonry.”

According to Sir Richard Burton, “Sufi-ism [was] the Eastern parent of Freemasonry.” (See, F. Hitchman, Burton, Volume 1, p. 286). Robert Graves claimed that Freemasonry first began as a Sufi society that reached England in the guise of a craft guild during the reign of King Athelstan (ruled 924-939), and was then introduced into Scotland. He describes the Sufic origins of the Craftmasons’ guilds and the part played by Templar teaching and tradition in the transformation of these guilds into Freemasonry. Graves traced Sufi origins back to the second millennium BCE and recounted that their hidden wisdom was passed down the generations by a process of initiation, from master to pupil. He asserts that the role of the Sufi masters in building of Solomon’s Temple is a key point that is commemorated in Freemasonic ritual.” (The Enigma of the Freemasons by Tim Wallace-Murphy).