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The Druze (/ ˈ d r uː z / DROOZ; Arabic: دَرْزِيّ, darzī or دُرْزِيّ durzī, pl. دُرُوز, durūz), who call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (lit. 'the monotheists' or 'the unitarians'), are an Arab and Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...
- Christianity and Druze
The Druze faith shows influence of Christian monasticism,...
- Lebanese Druze
The Lebanese Druze (Arabic: دروز لبنان, romanized: durūz...
- Christianity and Druze
The Druze faith shows influence of Christian monasticism, among other religious practices. Figures in the Old Testament such as Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, are considered important prophets of God in the Druze faith, being among the seven prophets who appeared in different periods of history.
- Overview
- Origins and practice
- History and social relations
- The Druze in Lebanon
- The Druze in Syria
- The Druze in Israel
Druze, small Middle Eastern religious sect characterized by an eclectic system of doctrines and by a cohesion and loyalty among its members (at times politically significant) that have enabled them to maintain for centuries their close-knit identity and distinctive faith. The Druze numbered more than 1,000,000 in the early 21st century and live mos...
The Druze faith originated in Egypt as an offshoot of Ismaʿīlī Shīʿism when, during the reign of the sixth Fāṭimid caliph, the eccentric al-Ḥākim bi-Amr Allāh (ruled 996–1021), some Ismaʿīlī theologians began to organize a movement proclaiming al-Ḥākim a divine figure. Although the idea was probably encouraged by al-Ḥākim himself, it was condemned as heresy by the Fāṭimid religious establishment, which held that al-Ḥākim and his predecessors were divinely appointed but not themselves divine. In 1017 the doctrine was publicly preached for the first time, causing riots in Cairo.
There was also conflict within the emerging movement as the leading proponent of the doctrine of al-Ḥākim’s divinity, Ḥamzah ibn ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad al-Zūzanī, found himself competing for authority and followers with a former disciple, Muḥammad al-Darāzī. Ḥamzah seems to have been favoured by al-Ḥākim, however, and al-Darāzī was declared an apostate within the movement and later disappeared (it is believed that al-Ḥākim ordered him killed). In spite of al-Darāzī’s death, outsiders continued to attach his name to the movement as al-Darāziyyah and al-Durūz.
Al-Ḥākim disappeared mysteriously in 1021, and the movement was persecuted under his successor, al-Zāḥir. Ḥamzah went into hiding, leaving the Druze to be led by al-Muqtanā Bahāʾ al-Dīn (also called al-Samūqī), with whom he seems to have remained in contact for a period of time. The Druze faith gradually died out in Egypt but survived in isolated areas of Syria and Lebanon, where missionaries had established significant communities. Al-Muqtanā withdrew from public life in 1037 but continued to write pastoral letters elaborating Druze doctrine until 1043. At that point, proselytism ended, and the Druze ceased to recognize conversions to the faith.
The Druze still do not permit conversion, either away from or to their religion. Marriage outside the Druze faith is rare and is strongly discouraged. Many Druze religious practices are kept secret, even from the community as a whole. Only an elite of initiates, known as ʿuqqāl (“knowers”), participate fully in their religious services and have access to the secret teachings of the scriptures, Al-Ḥikmah al-Sharīfah.
Despite the small size of their community, the Druze have figured prominently in Middle Eastern history. During the Crusades, Druze soldiers aided the Ayyūbid and later Mamlūk forces by resisting Crusader advances at the Lebanese coast. The Druze enjoyed considerable autonomy under the Ottoman Empire and often rebelled against it, protected from direct Ottoman control by the mountainous terrain of their homelands. From the 16th to the 19th century, a series of powerful feudal lords dominated Druze political life. One of the most famous of them was the 17th-century ruler Fakhr al-Dīn II of the house of Maʿn, who forged a coalition with the Maronite Christians of the Lebanon Mountains and challenged Ottoman authority by allying with Tuscany.
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The largest concentration of Druze in the present day is in Lebanon. The communities are located along the western edges of the Lebanon Mountains as well as in the southeastern portion of the country, and the total Druze population numbers well over 300,000. The Druze have wielded significant political power in the country since its independence. Kamal Jumblatt, a prominent Druze leader, enjoyed broad appeal through his charisma. His opposition to Camille Chamoun, including instigating an uprising against him in 1958, also helped earn him widespread respect among Arab nationalists. Jumblatt was given several cabinet posts throughout his political career; he was appointed minister of the interior because his pull with various communities put him in a unique position to manage the internal affairs of the country.
After Jumblatt’s assassination in 1977, his son Walid took over the political leadership of the Druze community in Lebanon. Like his father, he was often placed in the position of kingmaker in the country. His opposition to Syrian interference in Lebanon tended to give him a markedly pro-Western orientation. In 2011, however, he backed the pro-Syrian Hezbollah in Lebanon’s political crisis. In so doing, he indicated his dedication for Arab unity over either pro-Western or pro-Syrian orientations.
While Lebanon has the largest concentration of Druze, the much larger country of Syria has the largest total population of Druze—more than 600,000. Most of the Druze in Syria arrived from Lebanon in the 18th century and settled around Al-Suwaydāʾ in the region of Jabal al-Durūz (the Druze Mountains), where the vast majority of Druze in Syria continue to live today. In 1925 Druze leader Sulṭān al-Aṭrash led a revolt against French rule. After local success, Syrian nationalists outside the Druze community joined the revolt, and the rebellion spread throughout the region and into Damascus before it was suppressed in 1927. Among Syrians, this revolt is remembered as the nation’s first nationalist uprising.
The Druze remained politically salient figures for decades to come. Another Druze revolt led to a national uprising and the overthrow of Pres. Adib al-Shishakli in 1954. Moreover, the son of Sulṭān al-Aṭrash, Manṣūr al-Aṭrash, became one of the founding members of the Syrian Baʿth Party. He later served briefly as a parliamentary speaker in 1965 until his arrest in 1966.
Israel also has a sizeable community of Druze—about 150,000, located entirely in the northern portions of the country. The Druze are unique among the Arab communities in Israel, known for their loyalty to the state. After the Sunni leadership in Jerusalem threatened in 1942 to take control of the tomb of Jethro (called Shuʿayb by the Druze) in Tibe...
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
The Lebanese Druze (Arabic: دروز لبنان, romanized: durūz lubnān) are an ethnoreligious group constituting about 5.2 percent of the population of Lebanon. They follow the Druze faith, which is an esoteric Abrahamic religion originating from the Near East, and self identify as unitarians (Arabic: موحدين, romanized ...
21 mar 2016 · A quarter of Israeli Druze say they attend religious services at least weekly (25%) and a similar share say they pray daily (26%). Druze tradition also honors several “mentors” and “prophets,” including Jethro of Midian (Moses’ father-in-law), Moses, Jesus, John the Baptist and the Prophet Muhammad.
History. Druze woman wearing a tartur, Chouf, 1870s. The Druze religion began to develop during the Middle Ages. In the eleventh century C.E., the Druze religion emerged from the Ismaili sect, a sub group of Shia Islam. It is not known whether the Druze people were a distinct ethnic group before adopting their present religion.
About the Druze. The Druze faith dates back as early as the 11th century. The faith was greatly influenced by a diversity of religious sources including the Quran and Christian and Jewish Scripture, as well as elements of Greek philosophy, Eastern mysticism, and other ancient doctrines.
