Arkon Daraul is the name of the "author" of A History of Secret Societies (1961), a popular occult/conspiracy work dealing with, among other topics, the Assassins, the Knights Templar, Rosicrucians, Chinese Triads and the Carbonari. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... A cabal is a number of persons united in some close design, usually to promote their private views and interests in a church, state, or other community by intrigue. ... Hashshashin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... The Seal of the Knights — the two riders have been interpreted as a sign of poverty or the duality of monk/soldier. ... The Temple of the Rosy Cross, Teophilus Schweighardt Constantiens, 1618 The Rosicrucians are a legendary and secretive order dating from the 15th or 17th century, generally associated with the symbol of the Rose Cross, which is also used in certain rituals of the Freemasons. ... This article needs cleanup. ... The Carbonari (coalmen) were groups of secret revolutionary societies founded in early 19th century. ...

"Daraul" is almost certainly a pseudonym, as no individual with that name has been identified other than as the author of that very work. It is widely believed that "Daraul" is actually Idries Shah. However common the assumption, no real evidence exists to support it. If Idries Shah is, in fact, Daraul, the pseudonym might have been used because the fifth chapter deals with Sufism, a movement with which Shah identified and on which he wrote extensively under his own name. This chapter does in fact appear to betray personal, familiar acquaintance with Sufi meetings. However, in other chapters "Daraul" claims to have been present at the meetings of other societies as well, including those of the colorfully-named "Order of the Peacock Angel". A pseudonym (Greek: false name) is a fictitious name used by an individual as an alternative to his or her legal name. ... Idries Shah (16 June 1924 - 23 November 1996), also known as Idris Shah, né Sayyid Idris al-Hashimi, was an author and lyricist in the sufist tradition. ... Sufism is a mystic tradition of Islam encompassing a diverse range of beliefs and practices dedicated to Allah/God, divine love and sometimes to help a fellow man. ...