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StJ’s Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements
The Druze
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deliberately planned departure to challenge the people’s faith. Most Druze believe he left in order to test his followers devotion because he wanted to see what they would do if they had to withstand trials. THE DRUZE Rebecca Erickson Forming out of the “Seveners” (Isma’ilis), a Shi’a sect of Islam, the official term for this religious group is Muwwahhidun. However, they are more commonly known by the name “Druze,” most probably derived from an early disciple, Muhammad (or Nashtakin) al-Darazi, who was eventually labeled a heretic and executed in 1019 A.D. Current adherent figures differ greatly. Nevertheless, the most commonly held number is that there are approximately one million Druze in the world today, with the majority living in Syria and Lebanon. Brief History In 1017, al-Hakim bi Amr Allah, the sixth Fatimid imam-caliph, declared himself to be the messiah that the Isma’ilis had been anxiously awaiting. Ismal’ili theology asserts, “since the beginning of humanity man had been striving for the moment when true knowledge was to be divulged, free from all superficial, material anthropomorphic, and ritualistic implications, and free from all allegorical, symbolic, cabalistic and superfluous interpretations.” 1 As the messiah, “the final and most perfect manifestation” 2 of God, al-Hakim was regarded as the one to bring about this new era. Along with the proclamation of his own deity, al-Hakim announced that Hamza ibn ‘Ali was the new imam. This was a sharp departure from Isma’ili theology which stated the imam had to be a descendent from ‘Ali and Fatima, the son-in-law and daughter of Muhammad, which Hamza was not. As a result, a new understanding of the imamate had to be developed and this new group was forced to depart further from traditional Isma’ili doctrine. Al-Hakim, having elevated himself to a status higher than “imamdesignate,” became the central focus of the new religion. Hamza then became the main theologian for the faith, developing the idea of Tawhid (Oneness with God) for the believers to follow.3 As the imam, Hamza focused on formulating, explaining, and propagating the new message of Tawhid. 4 As was customary for al-Hakim, he went out into the desert alone one evening in February 1021. Only on that night he never returned and no sign of his body was ever found. The views on al-Hakim’s mysterious disappearance differ greatly, ranging from conspiracy and murder, to a
For the next seven years, the Druze faced extreme persecution by the new caliph, al-Zahir, who wanted to eradicate the fledgling faith. As a result, the faith went underground in hope of survival, as those captured were either forced to renounce their faith or killed. Druze survivors “were found principally in southern Lebanon and Syria.”5 In 1038, two years after the death of al-Zahir, Druze witnessing was able to resume because the new leadership that replaced him had friendly political ties with at least one prominent Druze leader. In 1043 the faith closed to new converts. It was believed everyone had a chance to hear, believe, and accept the Druze faith. Thus, anyone who had not accepted the teachings by that time had lost all chance of ever converting. This stands true today as only a person with a Druze father is considered to be a Druze, and no one is allowed to convert into the faith. At the closing of the faith, the Druze became highly secretive and withdrew largely from society until the sixteenth century. This secretive nature was a combined result of their closing and the still vivid memories of their recent persecution. There was now no longer any need to proselytize.6 Even today there is an ongoing debate among practitioners about the extent to which they should share knowledge about their faith. Theological Beliefs The Druze understanding of God is one of strict monotheism. God is the creator of the universe, its sustainer, limitless, omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent; and much more. He is not only “beyond the universe, nor is He only higher than it; God is… the only Existent; nothing outside Him exists…. He is unlimited…. All existing beings derive their existence from Him.”7 This concept of God’s transcendence and immanence is also understood as Tawhid. However, it is impossible to truly understand or comprehend God because of human limitations. That is, Man can only comprehend God as God appears to him . . . . Thus God, as we conceive Him, is different from God as He is in His reality. Man’s comprehension of God is limited to time and space, and to man’s mental and spiritual capacities, whereas God as He is in His reality is unlimited and infinite. 8 The amount of knowledge people can have about God is intrinsically dependent upon how much they purify themselves, prepare their souls for true knowledge, how willing they are to receive it and their intelligence. God created the universe because He is “absolute existence.” Because He is absolute,