Lebanese Druze

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The Lebanese Druze (

Arabic: موحدين, romanized: muwaḥḥidīn).[3]

There are estimated to be 1.1 million Druze worldwide.[4] The Druze, who refer to themselves as al-Muwahhideen, or "believers in one God," are concentrated in the rural, mountainous areas east and south of Beirut.[2] Lebanon has the world's second largest Druze population, after Syria.

Under the Lebanese political division (Parliament of Lebanon Seat Allocation) the

Alawi, and Ismaili), even though the Druze are no longer considered Muslim.[5][6][7] Lebanon's constitution was intended to guarantee political representation for each of the nation's ethno-religious groups.[8]

Maronite Catholic's and the Druze founded modern Lebanon in the early eighteenth century, through the ruling and social system known as the "Maronite-Druze dualism" in Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate.[10] Under the terms of an unwritten agreement known as the National Pact between the various political and religious leaders of Lebanon, the Chief of the General Staff must be a Druze.[11]

History

An estimate of the distribution of Lebanon's main religious groups, 1991, based on a map by GlobalSecurity.org
Chouf, Lebanon
Christian Church and Druze Khalwa in Shuf Mountains.

The Druze faith does not follow the Five Pillars of Islam, such as fasting during the month of Ramadan, and making a pilgrimage to Mecca.[12][13] The Druze beliefs incorporate elements of Ismailism, Gnosticism, Neoplatonism and other philosophies. The Druze call themselves Ahl al-Tawhid "People of Unitarianism or Monotheism" or "al-Muwaḥḥidūn."

"The Druze follow a lifestyle of isolation where no conversion is allowed, neither out of, or into, the religion. When Druze live among people of other religions, they try to blend in, in order to protect their religion and their own safety. They can pray as Muslims, or as Christians, depending on where they are. This system is apparently changing in modern times, where more security has allowed Druze to be more open about their religious belonging."[12]

The Tanukhids inaugurated the Druze community in Lebanon when most of them accepted and adopted the new message that was being preached in the 11th century, due to their leaderships close ties with then Fatimid ruler Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah.[14]

The

1860 Mount Lebanon civil war.[19][20]

Historically the relationship between the

Egypt Eyalet.[30][31] The persecution of the Druze included massacres, demolishing Druze prayer houses and holy places and forced conversion to Islam.[32] Those were no ordinary killings in the Druze's narrative, they were meant to eradicate the whole community according to the Druze narrative.[33]

The Druze community in Lebanon played an important role in the formation of the modern state of Lebanon, and even though they are a minority they play an important role in the Lebanese political scene. Before and during the

Mountain War
and sustained the existence of the Druze community during the sectarian bloodshed that lasted until 1990.

In August 2001,

Emir Majid Arslan
.

On May 10, 2008 as part of the 2008 Conflict, clashes occurred between Hezbollah forces and Druze militias in their mountain resulting in casualties on both sides.[36] The clashes started in Aytat, near Kayfoun and soon expanded to cover many spots in Mount Lebanon including Baysur, Shuweifat and Aley. Most of the fighting was concentrated on Hill 888. After negotiations a ceasefire was called in from outside the country before Hezbollah could call in artillery support. Releases from Hezbollah leaders in 2016 stated that bombing the mountain with close-range artillery from the South and longer-ranged artillery from Syria were both an option and greatly considered.[37]

Islamic world.[38]

A number of the Druze embraced Christianity, such as some of Shihab dynasty members,[39] as well as the Abi-Lamma clan,[40][41][42][43][44][45][46] During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Protestant missionaries established schools and churches in Druze strongholds, with some Druze converting to Protestant Christianity;[47] yet they did not succeed to convert Druze to Christianity en masse. On the other hand, many Druze immigrants to the United States converted to Protestantism, becoming communicants of the Presbyterian or Methodist Churches.[48][49]

Demographics

Prophet Job shrine in Niha village.[50]

According to scholar Colbert C. Held of

University of Nebraska, Lincoln the number of Druze people worldwide is around one million, with about 45% to 50% live in Syria, 35% to 40% live in Lebanon, and less than 10% live in Israel, with recently there has been a growing Druze diaspora.[51]

The Druze are concentrated in the rural, mountainous areas east and south of

Rachaya District, and they constitute about the quarter of residents of the Chouf District and the Matn District.[53]

Intercommunal relationships

Relationship with Lebanese Christians

Main article: Christianity and Druze
Left to right: Christian mountain dweller from Zahlé, Christian mountain dweller of Zgharta, and a Lebanese Druze man in traditional attire (1873).

Maronite community in Lebanon played an important role in the formation of the modern state of Lebanon.[55] Contact between Christians (members of the Maronite, Eastern Orthodox, Melkite, and other churches) and the Unitarian Druze led to the presence of mixed villages and towns in Mount Lebanon (Aley District, Baabda District, and Chouf District), Rashaya District, Hasbaya, Matn District, and Marjeyoun District.[56]

The relationship between the Druze and Christians in Lebanon has been characterized by

saints, and use of common words to designate God, the traces of which are discovered in the palaces and mausoleums of Druze lords, as well as in Maronite and Greek Orthodox churches.[60]

Druze and Christians in Lebanon celebrate each other's births, weddings, funerals, and celebrations such as

Christians and Druze in Lebanon.[63] The baptism of children in accordance with Christian custom was usually in large, well-known Lebanese Druze families.[64] In the period of Egyptian rule in the Levant in the 1830s, many Druze converted to Christianity to avoid enlistment into the Egyptian army,[64] according to historian Aharon Layish there is also explicit evidence of Druzes in Lebanon under the Ottoman rule were posing Christians for practical reasons.[64]

Due to the

Christian saints become the Druze's favorite venerated figures: Saint George and Saint Elijah.[65] Thus, in all the villages inhabited by Druze and Christians in central Mount Lebanon a Christian church or Druze maqam is dedicated to either one of them.[65] According to scholar Ray Jabre Mouawad the Druzes appreciated the two saints for their bravery: Saint George because he confronted the dragon and Saint Elijah because he competed with the pagan priests of Baal and won over them.[65] In both cases the explanations provided by Christians is that Druzes were attracted to warrior saints that resemble their own militarized society.[65]

Notable people

Part of a series on
Druze
The Druze Star
Beliefs
  • Ahl at-Tawhid
Important figures
Texts
Holy places
  • Mount Druze
  • Shrine of Shu'ayb
Holy days
History
Druze communities
Related topics
Fakhr-al-Din II

See also

References

  1. ISBN 978-0-521-81792-9
    .
  2. ^ a b c d Lebanon 2015 International Religious Freedom Report U.S. Department of State. Retrieved on 2019-04-23.
  3. ISBN 0-87779-044-2
    .
  4. ^ Sewell, Abby (2017-09-15). "Finding a life partner is hard enough. For those of the Druze faith, their future depends on it". GulfNews. Retrieved 2018-09-16.
  5. ^ James Lewis (2002). The Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religions. Prometheus Books. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  6. ^ https://books.google.com/books?id=wXO8AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA97 Lebanon Country Study Guide Volume 1 Strategic Information and Developments
  7. ISBN 978-0-03-052596-4
    . Theologically, one would have to conclude that the Druze are not Muslims. They do not accept the five pillars of Islam. In place of these principles the Druze have instituted the seven precepts noted above..
  8. ISBN 978-1-4381-2676-0
    .
  9. ISBN 978-1-5381-2418-5
    . Lebanon therefore was the distributing center of the Druze people and Wādi - al - Taym was the birthplace of their faith.
  10. ISBN 978-0-8179-1666-4
    . the Maronites and the Druze, who founded Lebanon in the early eighteenth century.
  11. ^ United Nations Development Programme : Programme on Governance in the Arab Region : Elections : Lebanon Archived 2011-07-18 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 25 January 2010.
  12. ^ a b "Druze". druze.org.au. 2015. Archived from the original on 2016-02-14.
  13. ^ James Lewis (2002). The Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religions. Prometheus Books. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  14. ISBN 978-0-19-518111-1
    .
  15. ISBN 978-1-317-93173-7
    . the Druze had been able to live in harmony with the Christian
  16. ISBN 978-965-226-049-9
    . .. Europeans who visited the area during this period related that the Druze "love the Christians more than the other believers," and that they "hate the Turks, the Muslims and the Arabs [Bedouin] with an intense hatred.
  17. ^ CHURCHILL (1862). The Druzes and the Maronites. Montserrat Abbey Library. p. 25. ..the Druzes and Christians lived together in the most perfect harmony and good-will..
  18. ^ a b Hobby (1985). Near East/South Asia Report. Foreign Broadcast Information Service. p. 53. the Druzes and the Christians in the Shuf Mountains in the past lived in complete harmony..
  19. ISBN 978-0-520-08782-8
    . Retrieved 2015-04-16.
  20. ISBN 0-903983-92-3
    .
  21. ISBN 978-1-4422-4617-1
    . Some Muslim rulers and jurists have advocated the persecution of members of the Druze Movement beginning with the seventh Fatimi Caliph Al-Zahir, in 1022. Recurring period of persecutions in subsequent centuries ... failure to elucidate their beliefs and practices, have contributed to the ambiguous relationship between Muslims and Druzes
  22. ISBN 978-1-4408-6503-9
    . Historically, Islam classified Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians as protected "People of the Book," a secondary status subject to payment of a poll tax. Nevertheless, Zoroastrians suffered significant persecution. Other religions such as the Alawites, Alevis, and Druze often suffered more.
  23. ISBN 978-90-04-06412-6
    . the Druze religion, though originating from the Isma'lliyya, an extreme branch of the Shia, seceded completely from Islam and has, therefore, experienced periods of persecution by the latter.
  24. ^ "Are the Druze People Arabs or Muslims? Deciphering Who They Are". Arab America. 8 August 2018. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  25. ISBN 978-1-135-98079-5
    . Most Druze do not consider themselves Muslim. Historically they faced much persecution and keep their religious beliefs secrets.
  26. ISBN 978-0-19-986263-4
    . While they appear parallel to those of normative Islam, in the Druze religion they are different in meaning and interpretation. The religion is considered distinct from the Ismaili as well as from other Muslims belief and practice... Most Druze consider themselves fully assimilated in American society and do not necessarily identify as Muslims..
  27. ISBN 978-0-03-052596-4
    . Theologically, one would have to conclude that the Druze are not Muslims. They do not accept the five pillars of Islam. In place of these principles the Druze have instituted the seven precepts noted above..
  28. ISBN 978-0-230-59598-9
    . With the succession of al-Zahir to the Fatimid caliphate a mass persecution (known by the Druze as the period of the mihna) of the Muwaḥḥidūn was instigated ...
  29. ISBN 978-1-4408-5353-1
    .
  30. ^ Taraze Fawaz, Leila. An occasion for war: civil conflict in Lebanon and Damascus in 1860. p.63.
  31. ^ Goren, Haim. Dead Sea Level: Science, Exploration and Imperial Interests in the Near East. p.95-96.
  32. ISBN 978-1-4408-5353-1
    .
  33. ISBN 978-1-317-09672-6
    .
  34. ^ Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir, Meib, May 2003, archived from the original (dossier) on July 20, 2009
  35. ^ "Who's who in Lebanon". BBC News. 14 March 2005. Retrieved 13 August 2011.
  36. ^ "Saturday's live coverage of the war in Lebanon". Ya Libnan. Archived from the original on 2008-06-12. Retrieved 2008-12-24.
  37. ^ Kandy Ringer. "Lebanon's Fighting Spreads to Druze Heartland". BBC News. Archived from the original on May 14, 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-24.
  38. ^ Haber et al. 2013. Quote:1-"We show that religious affiliation had a strong impact on the genomes of the Levantines. In particular, conversion of the region's populations to Islam appears to have introduced major rearrangements in populations' relations through admixture with culturally similar but geographically remote populations, leading to genetic similarities between remarkably distant populations like Jordanians, Moroccans, and Yemenis. Conversely, other populations, like Christians and Druze, became genetically isolated in the new cultural environment. We reconstructed the genetic structure of the Levantines and found that a pre-Islamic expansion Levant was more genetically similar to Europeans than to Middle Easterners."
    2-"The predominantly Muslim populations of Syrians, Palestinians and Jordanians cluster on branches with other Muslim populations as distant as Morocco and Yemen."
    3-Lebanese Christians and all Druze cluster together, and Lebanese Muslims are extended towards Syrians, Palestinians, and Jordanians, which are close to Saudis and Bedouins."
  39. ^ Mishaqa, p. 23.
  40. ISBN 978-1-4381-1025-7
    . Retrieved 2013-05-25.
  41. ISBN 978-1-4008-8686-9
    . the Abillama' amirs, were mostly Christians converted from the Druze faith.
  42. ISBN 978-1-4384-6095-6
    . The Abillamah, by the way, also converted to Christianity when the Metn Mountains came to be densely inhabited by Christians, a second conversion for them, given that they already turned Druze earlier, relinquishing the Sunni religion
  43. ISBN 978-1-135-75952-0
    . Other earlier converts were the Abillamah Druze Emirs and Harfush Shiite.
  44. ISBN 978-0-674-08105-5
    . So did other amirs, like the originally Druze Abi-llamah family, which also became Maronite
  45. ISBN 978-0-520-07196-4
    . namely the emirs of the house of Abul - Lama, used to be Druzes before they converted to Christianity and became Maronites
  46. ^ Matti Moosa, The Maronites in History, p. 283. Quote
  47. ISBN 978-0-313-33219-7
    . some Christians (mostly from the Orthodox faith), as well as Druze, converted to Protestantism...
  48. ISBN 978-0-313-33219-7
    . Many of the Druze have chosen to deemphasize their ethnic identity, and some have officially converted to Christianity.
  49. ISBN 978-1-4144-4891-6
    . US Druze settled in small towns and kept a low profile, joining Protestant churches (usually Presbyterian or Methodist) and often Americanizing their names..
  50. ISBN 978-1-4408-3332-8
    .
  51. ISBN 978-0-429-96200-4
    . Worldwide, they number 1 million or so, with about 45 to 50 percent in Syria, 35 to 40 percent in Lebanon, and less than 10 percent in Israel. Recently there has been a growing Druze diaspora.
  52. ^ a b تعرف على طائفة "الموحدين العرب" الدروز, BBC
  53. ISBN 978-0-292-73981-9
    . the Druzes make up almost half the district, of Aley, one third of Rashaya, and more than a quarter of Shuf and Matn...
  54. ^ Haber et al. 2013. Quote:1-"We show that religious affiliation had a strong impact on the genomes of the Levantines. In particular, conversion of the region's populations to Islam appears to have introduced major rearrangements in populations' relations through admixture with culturally similar but geographically remote populations, leading to genetic similarities between remarkably distant populations like Jordanians, Moroccans, and Yemenis. Conversely, other populations, like Christians and Druze, became genetically isolated in the new cultural environment. We reconstructed the genetic structure of the Levantines and found that a pre-Islamic expansion Levant was more genetically similar to Europeans than to Middle Easterners."
    2-"The predominantly Muslim populations of Syrians, Palestinians and Jordanians cluster on branches with other Muslim populations as distant as Morocco and Yemen."
    3-Lebanese Christians and all Druze cluster together, and Lebanese Muslims are extended towards Syrians, Palestinians, and Jordanians, which are close to Saudis and Bedouins."
  55. ISBN 9780817916664
    . the Maronites and the Druze, who founded Lebanon in the early eighteenth century.
  56. ISBN 9780292739819
    .
  57. ISBN 9781317931737
    . the Druze had been able to live in harmony with the Christian
  58. ISBN 9789652260499
    . .. Europeans who visited the area during this period related that the Druze "love the Christians more than the other believers," and that they "hate the Turks, the Muslims and the Arabs [Bedouin] with an intense hatred.
  59. ^ Churchill (1862). The Druzes and the Maronites. Montserrat Abbey Library. p. 25. ..the Druzes and Christians lived together in the most perfect harmony and good-will..
  60. ISBN 9781351722179
    .
  61. ISBN 9780253004925
    .
  62. ^ Panzac, 1995, p. 381.
  63. ^ a b Morgenstern, 1966, p. 158.
  64. ^
    ISBN 978-0700702268
    .
  65. ^
    ISBN 9781351722179
    .
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