Encyclopedia
The
Druze are a distinct religious community based mostly in the
Middle East who are an offshoot of
Islam and influenced by other religions and philosophies, including
Greek philosophy. The Druze consider themselves politically as "an Islamic Unist, reformatory sect", although they are not considered
Muslims by most Muslims in the region. The Druze call themselves
The People of Monotheism or
Muwahhidun . The origin of the name
Druze is traced to Muhammad ad-Darazi, reputed founder of the sect.
Location
The Druze reside primarily in
Lebanon, although there are smaller communities in
Israel,
Syria, and
Jordan.
Large communities of expatriates also live in the
United States,
Canada,
Latin America,
West Africa,
Australia and
Europe. They use the
Arabic language and follow a social pattern very similar to the East Mediterraneans of the region. While most Druze consider themselves Arabs, some living in
Israel do not.
There are thought to be as many as 2.3 million Druze worldwide, the vast majority in the
Levant or East Mediterranean. However, some estimates of the total Druze population have been as low as 450,000.
History of the Druze
The religion developed out of Ismaili Islam, a philosophical movement based in the Fatimid
Caliphate, in the
10th century, a time of particular cultural wealth. The religion did not attempt to change mainstream Islam but to create a whole new religious body influenced by
Greek philosophy,
Gnosticism and
Christianity, among others.
The main actors of the early years were two: The pious Fatimid ruler
Tariqu l-?akim --also known as Al-hakim or
al-?akim bi-?Amru l-Lah --was an Ismaili caliph from Egypt believed by some to be an actual incarnation of God. The Persian immigrant Hamza ibn ?Ali ibn A?mad was the main architect of the movement. It was Imam ?amza who first publicly proclaimed ?akim to be more than human.
The early Druze community faced a strong challenge when Mu?ammad ad-Darazi declared ?akim's divinity and claimed to be his chief messenger. It is said that ?akim was angered by this and had Darazi executed. Meanwhile, Hamza and his moderate followers, who had rejected that ?akim was the incarnation of God, received his favour and were protected until he disappeared one night in 1021. The Druze believe that ?akim went into
occultation and will return in the
end of days as the Qa'im "Ariser" or Mahdi "Guider".
After the death of ?akim, the Druze were forced to move and use the practice of
taqiyya "dissimulation", whereby they concealed their true beliefs and outwardly accepted the religious beliefs of those amongst whom they lived even as they secretly retained their true convictions.
The Druze have played major roles in the history of the
Levant. They were mostly scattered in the
Chouf Mountains, which are part of
Mount Lebanon , and later the so-named
Jabal al-Duruz in
Syria.
The Druze also played a major role in the
Lebanese Civil War . They organized a
militia under the leadership of
Walid Jumblatt, , in opposition to the
Maronite Christian
Phalangist militia of Bachir Gemayel in the Mount Lebanon area where the Druze militia were successful in winning the war. A peace treaty was then signed between the Druze and Maronite leaders which has enabled them to live peacefully together and later become allies.
The Druze today
In Lebanon, Syria and Israel, the Druze have official recognition as a separate religious community with its own religious court system. Their symbol is an array of five colors:
green,
red,
yellow,
blue and
white. Each color pertains to a symbol defining its principles: green for
?Aql "the Universal Mind", red for
Ruh "the Universal Soul", yellow for
Kalima"the Truth/Word", blue for
Sabq "the Antagonist/Cause" and white for
Tali "the Protagonist/Effect". These principles are why the number five has special considerations among the religious community; it is usually represented symbolically as a five-pointed star.
Although often politically recognized as Muslims, most Druzes do not consider themselves Muslims, since they are not followers of the five pillars of Islam.
In
Israel, Druze choose to vote in elections but usually identify themselves as Arabs . Druze in
Israel are known to be patriotic Israelis. Lately, Azzam Azzam, an Israeli-Druze convicted spy, has become the model of the “ultimate Israeli patriot”.
However, many Druze living in the
Golan Heights consider themselves
Syrian and refuse Israeli citizenship, while the remainder consider themselves Israeli. In general elections, the majority of Druze villages have similar voting patterns as the general public.
Israeli Druze also serve in the
Israeli army, voluntarily since 1948, and—at the community's request—compulsorily since 1956. Their privileges and responsibilities are the same as Israeli Jews; thus, all Druze are drafted, but exemptions are given for religious students and for various other reasons. Most recently in the
re-engagement war in Lebanon, the all-Druze Herev Battalion, through their knowledge of the Lebanese terrain, suffered no casualties and are reported to have killed 20
Hezbollah fighters, triggering suggestions that the battalion will be transformed into an elite unit.
In January 2004, the spiritual leader of the Druze community in Israel, Shaykh Mowafak Tarif, signed a declaration calling on all non-Jews in Israel to observe the Seven Noahide Laws as laid down in the
Bible and expounded upon in Jewish tradition. The mayor of the
Galilean and the city of Shfaram also signed the document . The declaration includes the commitment to make a "...better humane world based on the Seven Noahide Commandments and the values they represent commanded by the Creator to all mankind through Moses on
Mount Sinai."
Support for the spread of the Seven Noahide Commandments by the Druze leaders reflects the Biblical narrative itself. The Druze community reveres the non-Jewish father-in-law of Moses, Jethro, whom Muslim Arabs call Shu?ayb. According to the Biblical narrative, Jethro joined and assisted the Jewish people in the desert during the Exodus, accepted monotheism, but ultimately rejoined his own people. In fact, the tomb of Jethro in
Tiberias is the most important religious site for the Druze community.
In 1167 Benjamin Metudela wrote about the Druze in his diary, according to his book the Druze are "Mountain dwellers, monotheists, believe in soul transfigurations and are good friends with the
Jews".
Prominent Druze figures
- Fakhreddin II , descendant of the Ma'an Dynasty, ruled at its height what is now Lebanon, part of Syria, Israel and even part of Turkey.
- L'Emir Magid Arslan was the leader of the independence of Lebanon in 1943 when the president Bechara el Khoury with fellow ministers were taken to prison to rachaya by the French. His sons L'Emir Faysal Arslan and L'Emir Talal Arslan fought each other democratically to gain seat in the Lebanese Parliament but L'Emir Talal Arslan won the seat because of Syria's influence over Lebanon during the Lebanese elections in 1992.
- Kamal Jumblatt founded the Lebanese Progressive Socialist Party in the mid-20th century and was a major thinker and philosopher; his son Walid Jumblatt remains prominent in Lebanese politics.
- In Israel, Salah Tarif, a former captain in the paratrooper and the tank divisions of the Israeli Army, has been a Knesset member since 1992. He has served as the Deputy Speaker and the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs and was appointed Minister Without Portfolio in the Sharon government of 2001.
- Ayoob Kara, a former member of the Knesset for the Likud party.
- Colonel Imad Fares, acclaimed commander of the Givati Brigade of the Israeli Army from 2001–2003.
- Major General Hussain Fares, commander of the Israel Border Police.
- Lieutenant General Salim Slim, commander of the Lebanese Judiciary Police.
- Azzam Azzam was accused of spying for Israel by Egypt and jailed there for eight years before being released in late 2004.
- The famous musician Farid Al Atrache, born in Syria's Jabal al-Duruz to Prince Farhan al Atrash . He moved to Egypt with his mother, brother and sister Asmahan, who was also a famous singer. He composed hundreds of songs and acted in many movies. Al-Atrache revived the Eastern musical traditions with such pieces as "Lahn al-Khulud" and the Rabeeh Opera.
- Radio announcer Casey Kasem, born Kamal Amin Kasem to Lebanese Druze immigrants to the USA, is probably that country's most well-known figure of Druze heritage. About 20,000 Druze live in the United States.
- Sultan Basha al Atrash was leader of the revolution against the French occupation of Lebanon and Syria in the 1920s. He is viewed by many Druze, as well as many non-Druze Arabs, as a symbol of courage and defiance to outside influence and occupation.
- Samir Kuntar, a PLF member who was captured in Israel in 1979 after he killed four people, amongst them a four year-old girl and her father.
Beliefs of the Druze
The Druze faith keeps its tenets secret. They are publicly open about very few details of their faith and they do not accept converts and strongly discourage conversion from their religion to another. This is due to many religious, political and historical reasons: the Druze were violently and brutally persecuted for centuries by other religious communities.
The Druze believe in the unity of God, hence their preference for the name "People of Monotheism" or "Monotheists". Their
theology has a Neo-Platonic view about how God interacts with the world through emanations and is similar to some
gnostic and other esoteric sects. They are not, however, influenced by the
Sufi philosophy, as many believe.
The principles of the Druze faith are: guarding one's tongue , protecting one's brother, respecting the elderly, helping others, protecting one's homeland, and belief in one God. Another well-known feature of the Druze religion is a fervent belief in human-only
reincarnation for all the members of the community. They reject
polygamy,
tobacco smoking,
alcohol or consumption of
pork, although pork and alcohol may be consumed in many non-religious and/or al-Juhl households.
Druze religion does not allow them to intermarry with
Muslims,
Jews or members of any other religions. However, these rules are often disregarded in modern societies.
It is also known that Druze believe in five cosmic principles, represented by the five colored Druze star: intelligence/reason , soul , word , precedent and immanence . These virtues take the shape of five different spirits which, until recently, have been continuously reincarnated on Earth as prophets and philosophers including
Adam,
Pythagoras,
Akhenaten, and many others. The Druze believe that, in every time period, these five principles were personified in five different people who came down together to Earth to teach humans the true path to God and nirvana, but that with them came five other individuals who would lead people away from the right path into "darkness".
The Druze believe in prophets like
Adam,
Noah ,
Abraham , Sarah,
Jacob ,
Moses ,
Solomon ,
John the Baptist and
Jesus . They also believe in the wisdom of classical Greek
philosophers such as
Plato and
Pythagoras, who have the same stature as other prophets. In addition, they have an array of "wise men" that founded the religion in the
11th century.
Individual
prayer does not exist. Druze are not required to follow the Muslim duties of prayer, fasting, or pilgrimage to
Mecca but may do so, especially if it is dangerous for them if they do not.
One of the faith's holy books is called the
Kitabu l-Hikma or "Book of Wisdom", largely compiled by a mysterious figure called al-Muqtana. It has six volumes and is compiled in chapters, each covering a specific issue. The teachings denounce materialism, especially materialism relative to religion.
?Uqqal and Juhhal
The Druze are split into two groups. The outer group, called
al-Juhhal , "the Ignorant", are not granted access to the secret Druze holy literature. They form the Druze political and military leadership and generally distance themselves from religious issues. They comprise perhaps 90% of the Druze.
The inner group are called
al-?Uqqal , "the Knowledgeable Initiates". Women are considered especially suitable to become ?Uqqal; they are even regarded to be spiritually superior to men, a belief that greatly contrasts with the surrounding Christian, Muslim, Jewish communities.
Druze women who are ?uqqal can opt to wear
al-mandil, a transparent loose white
veil, especially in the presence of religious figures. They wear
al-mandil on their head to cover their hair and wrap it around their mouth and sometimes over their nose as well. They wear black shirts and long skirts covering their legs to their ankles. Male
?uqqal grow moustaches, shave their heads, and wear dark clothing with white turbans.
The ?uqqal themselves are also divided into two groups; about 10% are
al-Ajawid, a term that means "The Good Ones ". They are the leaders of the spiritual life of the Druze.
Druze places of worship are usually very modest and the Ajawid lead very modest lifestyles. Prayer is usually conducted discreetly, among family and friends. There is little official hierarchy in the religious community except for the
Shaykh al-?Aql, whose role is more political and social than religious. A religious figure is admired for his wisdom and lifestyle.
Contradictory literature surrounds the Druze mainly due to adopted beliefs that were used to protect them from persecutors and due to the rumors and stories of outsiders. For example, it is still unclear to most outsiders whether the Druze follow the same traditions of fasting as Muslims in the month of
Ramadan. This is because the Druze have followed these traditions for centuries in order to protect themselves. Many orthodox Druze hold that they should not follow these traditions, but should follow a different fasting tradition still practiced by religious figures instead. The Druze have other fasting traditions, such as fasting during the ten days before Eid ul-Adha, the last night of which is spent in prayer. The Druze fast is more difficult than the traditional Ramadan fast in that only one light meal is allowed in the evening.
See also
References
External links
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