currents. Thus the Templars were the Christian equivalent of the Arab
Order of the Ishmaelites,2 who likewise regarded themselves as the
"guardians of the Holy Land" (in an esoteric and symbolic sense), and who
had two hierarchies, one official and one secret. Such an order, which had
a double character, both warrior and religious, almost met the same fate
as that of the Templars, and for analogous reasons: its initiatory character
and its upholding an esotericism that despised the literal meaning of
sacred scriptures.3 In Ishmaelite esotericism we find again the same theme
of the Ghibelline imperial saga: the Islamic dogma of the "resurrection"
(kiyama) is here interpreted as the new manifestation of the Supreme
Leader (Mahdf), who became invisible during the socalled period of
"absence" (ghayba). This is so because the Mahdr at one point disappeared,
thus eluding death, leaving his followers under the obligation of swearing
allegiance and obedience unto him as if he were Allah himself.4
In these terms it was possible to gradually establish an acknowledgment
inter pares beyond any partisan spirit and historical contingency, or a sort
of supratraditional understanding like the symbol of the "Temple:'
Moreover, exclusivism and sectarianism being features of exotericism, that
is, of a tradition's external and profane aspects, we find again here the
"overcoming" attitude that already characterized the Templars. In
reference to the Crusades we learn from history that this "secret
understanding" never amounted to a military betrayal, considering that
the Templars were among the bravest, most faithful and warriorlike
soldiers during all the Crusades. That which rather corresponded to it was
probably the expunging from the notion of "holy war" of its materialistic
and external aspect of war waged against the "infidel" and of death for the
"true" faith, and its restoration to its purest, most metaphysical meaning.
According to this meaning, what really mattered was no longer a
particular profession of faith, but the simple capacity to turn war into an
ascetic preparation