Can a Muslim be a Free Mason?

The prominent Muslim scholar Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a Senior Lecturer and Islamic Scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, answers:

“As far as I know, Freemasonry is a secret organization whose beliefs and practices are totally kept confidential except from those who are initiated into it. They have levels of secrets which are not divulged to those who are at lower levels. A Muslim should never fall prey or give allegiance to something which cannot be scrutinized by the firm criteria of the Qur’an and the Sunnah. Whoever joins Freemasonry is like a person who writes a blank check; by doing so he agrees to give allegiance blindly to an authority to comply with their wishes no matter what they are.

No Muslim can surrender his will unconditionally to anyone but Allah. If anyone has done so, he is guilty of the most blatant violation namely shirk (associating partners with Allah). Allah says: “Do they have partners beside Allah who shall prescribe for them rituals that Allah has not sanctioned.”(Ash-Shura: 21)”

Another thing: Islam respects other religions. Freemasonry deceives its members into thinking that they further the cause of a better humanity when they are actually furthering the interests of those who seek to give the Jews supremacy over all peoples of the world. Islam is the final message from Allah to man. It is the religion that supercedes all past divine messages, including Judaism.

Freemasonry seeks to destroy Al-Aqsa Mosque in order to rebuild the Temple of Solomon in its place. How can a Muslim, then, join such a society? (Islam Online Archive)