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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,
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He has not created the world outside of Him for, as absolute, He has no limit: similarly, the world did not emanate from Him in time. He is the One: there is none other than God; He is the only Existent. The world is a constant projection from Him, by Him, within Him and to Him . . . . The world is, therefore, in existence due to God’s divine nature.9 Specifically, the creation of the universe occurred through a series of five interconnected “Cosmic Principles” – the ‘Aql, Soul, Word, Precedent, and Follower. Before the first principle was created nothing was in existence other than God, but once God started the creation process, “it evolved with each of the subsequent cosmic principles, deriving its emergence, by God’s will, from the preceding one until the creation of the five cosmic principles was complete. Only then did the universe and all there is in it emerge.”10 The Druze do not follow the Five Pillars of Islam or the Qur’an; instead, they have their own scripture and seven virtues to follow in order to be good believers. These virtues or duties are 1) recognition of al-Hakim as messiah and adherence to monotheism, 2) denial of non-Druze tenets, 3) rejection of Satan and unbelief, 4) acceptance of God’s acts, 5) total submission to God, 6) truthfulness, and 7) mutual solidarity and help among fellow Druze.11 In addition, each person lives a specific and fixed number of days, at the end of which the person dies and is reborn. Because of this, Druze are instructed not to fear death because their bodies are only coverings for their souls, and if those coverings are torn or destroyed, they will receive another one in their next life.12 The ultimate goal for all Druze is reaching, Self-realization in the One [God] and living accordingly, in real love. The individual’s capacity to reach such oneness with the One depends upon his or her intellectual and spiritual preparedness. True discovery of the self will enable the individual to behold the One, as if he or she looked into a mirror and saw his or her own image.… Man can achieve the harmony of these two forces only if he opens his heart to divine love.13 It is because of the difficulty to reach this stage that the Druze believe in the transmigration of souls – it gives them time to comprehend the complete Oneness of God and achieve unity with Him. The Druze understanding about Judgment Day is similar to that of Christianity and Islam, in that the day is unknown and there will somehow be a “weighing” of each person. However, Druze do not accept the traditional Islamic view of a fiery hell and paradise-like heaven. Instead, for them, “[p]aradise is dedication to God and hell is ignorance and iniquity.” 14
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Websites American Druze Society. <http://www.druze.com>. American Druze Society –Michigan Chapter. <http://www.druze.org>. Druze Heritage Foundation. <http://druzeheritage.org/DHF/The_Druze_Faith.asp>. Druze History and Culture. 2005. <http://www.druzehistoryandculture.com>. Institute of Druze Studies. <http://www.druzestudies.org/>. Further Reading Abu-Izzeddin, Nejla M. The Druzes: A New Study of Their History, Faith and Society. Leiden Netherlands: E.J. Brill, 1993. Betts, Robert Brenton. The Druze. London: Yale University Press, 1988. Bouron, N. Druze History. Trans. F. Massey. Detroit, 1952 Crim, Keith ed. Abingdon Dictionary of Living Religions, s.v. “Isma’ilyya.” Nashville: Abingdon, 1981. Dana, Nissim. The Druze in the Middle East: Their Faith, Leadership, Identity and Status. Brighton: Sussex Academic Press, 2003. Haddad, Yvonne Yazbeck, and Jane Idleman Smith. “The Druze in North America.” The Muslim World 81:2 (1991): 111-132. Hitti, Philip K. The Origins of the Druze People and Religion: With Extracts from Their Sacred Writings. Columbia University Oriental Studies, Vol. 28. New York: AMS Press, 1966. Khuri, Fuad I. Being a Druze. London: Druze Heritage Foundation, 2004. Makarem, Julia. American Druze Heritage. <http://www.americandruzeheritage.com/index.html> or <http://www.americandruzehistory.com/>. Makarem, Sami Nasib. The Druze Faith. Delmar, NY: Caravan Books, 1974. Muakasa, Sahar. Comprehensive Bibliography of the DRUZE Religion. New York: Druze Research & Publications Institute, 2004. Najjar, Abdallah. The Druze: Millennium Scrolls Revealed. Trans. Fred I. Massey. 1973.
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Obeid, Anis. The Druze & Their Faith in Tawhid. New York: Syracuse University Press, 2006. Swayd, Samy. Historical Dictionary of the Druzes. Historical Dictionaries of Peoples and Cultures, No. 3. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2006. 1
Sami Nasib Makarem, The Druze Faith (Delmar, NY: Caravan Books, 1974), 16. 2 Philip K. Hitti. The Origins of the Druze People and Religion: With Extracts from Their Sacred Writings, Columbia University Oriental Studies, Vol. 28 (New York: AMS Press, 1966), 30. 3 Anis Obeid, The Druze & Their Faith in Tawhid (New York: Syracuse University Press, 2006), 84. 4 Ibid., 81 and 84. 5 Robert Brenton Betts, The Druze (London: Yale University Press, 1988), 12. 6 Ibid., 13-14. 7 Makarem, The Druze Faith , 41-42. 8 Ibid. , 59-61. 9 Druze Heritage Foundation. The Druze Faith –The Druze Concept of God. <http://druzeheritage.org/DHF/The_Druze_concept_of_ God.asp>; and Sami Nasib Makarem, 42. 10 Obeid, The Druze & Their Faith 131. 11 Julia Makarem, American Druze Heritage; and Betts, The Druze, 19. 12 Fuad I. Khuri, Being a Druze (London: Druze Heritage Foundation, 2004), 101-109. 13 Druze Heritage Foundation. The Druze Faith –God and Man. 14 Ibid., 116.