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Druze Religion | History, Beliefs & Facts | Study.com
The Druze religion has its roots in Islam, but its worshippers are not Muslim. It is a monotheistic religion with prophets who are recognized by both the Christian and Muslim religions.
Arab ethnoreligious group of the Levant
Factsheet
Total population 800,000–2,000,000
Founder Hamza ibn Ali ibn Ahmad
Regions with significant populations
Total population 800,000–2,000,000
Founder Hamza ibn Ali ibn Ahmad
Regions with significant populations
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Druze
Druze - Wikipedia
3 weeks ago - As a religious minority, they have ... various Muslim regimes, including contemporary Islamic extremism. Several theories about the origins of the Druze have been proposed, with the Arabian hypothesis being the most widely accepted among historians, intellectuals, and religious leaders within ...
Do the Druze actually descend from Christians and not Muslims?
You're asking two different questions here. In terms of Tawheed as a theology being an offshoot of Ismaili Islam, it's true, the Ismaili roots of Druzism are very obvious. In terms of our genetic origins and makeup, no one really knows, however genetic testing shows that as a population overall we're the same as the other Levantine populations in Syria and Lebanon AFAIK. The Tanukhids for example were an Arab tribe that migrated from southern Arabia to the Levant in the 2nd century, they were Christianized, then converted to Islam and finally their Emirs of the Chouf mountains converted to Druzism. They were the biggest Arab tribe that joined the Druze call. A big issue with this is that our history wasn't really documented until the 15th-16th century, so no firsthand sources exist about the proto-Druze and the early Druze. Oral traditions differ by agenda, people make a big deal about our fair skin complexion but it's not so different from your average northern Syrian/Lebanese, so God only knows where we really originate from, if I had to bet, I'd just say a mish mash of local Levantine populations. More on reddit.com
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December 27, 2024Can Druze consider themselves Muslim?
We are also considered Muslim under the Al-Azhar Shia Fatwa, along with Alawites and Shia’s in general, and the Lebanese Government places Druze as 1 of 5 sects of Islam. This is moreso for political reasons than religious reasons. I'm from Lebanon and if you ask you're average Druze if they consider themselves muslim, they'll say no. They don't fast Ramadan or celebrate Eid-ul-fitr (that's one pillar of islam). They don't perform Hajj (another pillar of Islam) and they have different rituals when it comes to prayers and so on. So, from a purely technical point, Druze aren't muslims. I hope this doesn't offend you, but it's the truth. More on reddit.com
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December 12, 2020A brief look at the beliefs of the Druze
These Druze and Nusairis are kaafirs, according to the consensus of the Muslims. It is not permissible to eat the meat they slaughter, or to marry their womenfolk. They do not agree to pay the jizyah, so they are apostates from the religion of Islam and are not Muslims, nor are they Jews or ... More on islamqa.info
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Are Druze Arab? And question about relations.
I lived outside of Israel as a teenager and in my school there were two druze families. One from Lebanon and the other one from Syria. They all considered themselves Arabs. I served with 4 druze during my military service (finished it around 6 years ago) and they would get very angry at any insinuation that they are Arabs. I believe it is because in Israel usually "Arabs" are considered the enemy and the druze don't want any part of that. More on reddit.com
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September 25, 2023Where did the Druze religion come from?
When the Fatimid Caliph al-Hakim ruled Egypt in the 10th and 11th centuries, some missionaries started to teach that he was the divine incarnation of god. He encouraged them to keep teaching this belief along with the teachings of other cultures and philosophies. The majority of the beliefs stem from the sect of Islam known as Isma'ili.
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Druze Religion | History, Beliefs & Facts | Study.com
What does the Druze religion believe in?
The Druze are monotheistic and believe the leader al-Hakim from the 10th and 11th century CE is the divine incarnation of god. They believe in a combination of philosophies and beliefs from Christianity, Gnosticism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and other cultures.
study.com
study.com › history courses › general religious studies
Druze Religion | History, Beliefs & Facts | Study.com
Videos
Who are the Druze?
01:58
Who Are the Druze? The Arab Minority That Stands With Israel - YouTube
08:48
Arabs With a Secret Religion? The Origins of the Druze in Syria ...
02:52
Who are the Druze and why is Israel attacking Syria for them? | ...
12:37
Why Does Israel Protect the Druze? - YouTube
08:30
Who Are the Druze and Why Is Israel Bombing Syria Amid Sectarian ...
Pew Research Center
pewresearch.org › short reads › religion › religion & politics › 5 facts about israeli druze, a unique religious and ethnic group
5 facts about Israeli Druze, a unique religious and ethnic group | Pew Research Center
July 21, 2025 - Like a number of other ethnic groups ... in the early 1920s. But unlike the Kurds, who are largely Muslim, the Druze are a unique religious and ethnic group....
Reddit
reddit.com › r/druze › do the druze actually descend from christians and not muslims?
r/druze on Reddit: Do the Druze actually descend from Christians and not Muslims?
December 27, 2024 -
The Druze despite being considered its own ethno-religion, are often said to be an off-shoot of Ismaili Islam. But how true is that?
According to genetic studies, the Druze are nearly identical to Levantine Christians, and don’t seem to be mixed with Arabs like most Muslims. Does that mean Druze overwhelmingly descend from Levantine Christians who joined the Druze faith when it was allowed to convert, rather than Muslims joining the faith?
Top answer 1 of 2
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You're asking two different questions here. In terms of Tawheed as a theology being an offshoot of Ismaili Islam, it's true, the Ismaili roots of Druzism are very obvious. In terms of our genetic origins and makeup, no one really knows, however genetic testing shows that as a population overall we're the same as the other Levantine populations in Syria and Lebanon AFAIK. The Tanukhids for example were an Arab tribe that migrated from southern Arabia to the Levant in the 2nd century, they were Christianized, then converted to Islam and finally their Emirs of the Chouf mountains converted to Druzism. They were the biggest Arab tribe that joined the Druze call. A big issue with this is that our history wasn't really documented until the 15th-16th century, so no firsthand sources exist about the proto-Druze and the early Druze. Oral traditions differ by agenda, people make a big deal about our fair skin complexion but it's not so different from your average northern Syrian/Lebanese, so God only knows where we really originate from, if I had to bet, I'd just say a mish mash of local Levantine populations.
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The question is a bit nuanced. Firstly it is an ethnoreligion, which has ethnic heritage as far back as the time of Jethro, Moshe's (Moses) father in law. Secondly, the Druze which again is ethnic AND religious group---is Abrahamic... It is not Christian or Jewish or Muslim; the ethnoreligion element is similar to Judaism, but one key difference. It is a closed religion. There are no conversions in our out of the tribe (about one million worldwide). They are also not open to giving information about their traditions to outsiders. For western people to have a relatable comparison.. think similar to Amish in the sense of the separation from worldly things as much as possible. Not all are as strict, but that is the essence of things and why the religion is closed. The religion itself only became organized around 1100 current era, I want to say in Egypt under the caliphate at the time. Likely why they are so secretive about their faith as well. While it is not Christian, Jewish or Muslim, it does recognize key elements and figures from other Abrahamic religions. I will say, from what I know of them, they have a belief of reincarnation similar to Judaism, no hell or heaven .... Not in the way Christians believe. In Judaism, we call it Gilgulim Neshama "cycle of the soul". They have similar known traditions to all 3 religions, but what I do also know, is that their most central "prophet" seems to be Jesus, if that helps Christians out with an answer... The closest thing I can give anyway lol. He's seen as a Prophet to them, but a highly, HIGHLY regarded one. It's a layered question with an even more layered answer than I can even give without writing a book. I'm half Arab and I'm also half Mizrahi (Persian) Jewish and religiously Jewish. Ethnoreligions are a tricky thing to explain to people, because it's very much nuanced with many variables. When you're dealing with ethnoreligions it gets very complex, especially when the official religion wasn't cemented until so much later than the others. It doesn't make Druze religion an "offshoot" religion either, which I feel is important to say. I've heard Muslims suggest they're an offshoot of Shia, similar to Alawite, which is not correct. Being in a certain culture, which had certain traditions with regards to treatment of other religions and a history of forced conversions, to suggest that because a culture developed under a theocracy, is a direct part of that culture is a bit reductive. There are many people who are often Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and even Greek you who discover that despite being Christian, their DNA suggests Sephardic Jewish lineage in their profile. Same with Arabs who discover Mizrahi Jewish dna. Forced conversion can cause these surprises later on down the road. I think there are CULTURAL influences, but that their religion is unique and being a closed religion does murky things, but I respect it and the Druze people. I will also say, for my Christian friends. An interesting thing I recently read was that, upon studying the samples from the alleged burial shroud along with the alleged remains of John the Baptist, they were found to have DRUZE mitochondrial DNA, which suggests that, in the time of Jesus, on his mother's side... When the conversion in Judaism was not as strict and when Druze didn't disallow conversion, that at some point, his mother's family had married a member of the Druze tribe. He was still obviously Jewish, a Rabbi, but I thought that was really interesting. What we know is that Druze can be found as far away from the Middle East as Venezuela. So, if you have Hispanic lineage... Not only do you have a 25% chance of having Sephardic Jewish DNA , but also Druze is a possibility. Thought that was a pretty neat facto!
Quora
quora.com › Are-Druze-Muslims-or-Jews
Are Druze Muslims or Jews? - Quora
The Druze are Druze. The Druze religion is RELATED to both Judaism and Islam - we think. One thing we do know, is that the Druze religion is gnostic, in the sense that - they don’t talk about it to outsiders.
EBSCO
ebsco.com › research-starters › ethnic-and-cultural-studies › druze
Druze | Research Starters | EBSCO Research
The Druze are a distinct religious community that originated as an offshoot of Islam during the 10th century, though they incorporate elements from various faiths, including Judaism and Christianity.
Al Jazeera
aljazeera.com › news › explainer
Who are the Druze? A look at the community following a deadly attack | Explainer News | Al Jazeera
Makram Rabah, an assistant professor of history and archaeology at the American University in Beirut who has written extensively on the Druze, told Al Jazeera they are “one of the founding communities of modern Lebanon, Syria and Jordan and Palestine” with a long history in the region. Rabah described their early role as frontier warriors: “Over time, they assumed many political and military responsibilities on behalf of the Muslim Caliphate”, he said, referring to the role the Druze played in the Abbasid Empire, which existed from 750 to 1258.
Published August 1, 2024
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Lebanese_Druze
Lebanese Druze - Wikipedia
1 day ago - 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.
DW
dw.com › en › syria-who-are-the-druze › a-73311140
Syria: Who are the Druze?
July 17, 2025 - However the Druze do not identify as Muslim. They believe in reincarnation and do not accept converts. In Syria, they are estimated to number around 700,000 and make up about 3% of the country's population.
Foreign Policy Association
fpa.org › special-contributor-op-ed-the-druze-religion
Special Contributor Op-Ed: The Druze Religion...
February 10, 2025 - The history that relates to the Druze faith contain a lot of facts that deny its foundations because most of the historians that wrote about the Druze religion were Muslim. Also, historical sources from Western countries relied upon those sources and as we know, Islam never recognized the Druze faith as a separate faith and considered them a section of Islam, which went out of it, which is actually the semi-truth and not the whole truth. The Druze lived in the Mediterranean at a time when this area was named Israel, Bilad Al Sham, the Greater Syria and many other names.
Quora
quora.com › Are-the-Druze-people-of-the-Middle-East-Muslims
Are the Druze people of the Middle East Muslims? - Quora
Answer (1 of 6): The Druze are a derivative of the Ismaili Shia branch of Islam, but they do not claim to be Muslim, but rather they practice what is a mix of Shia, ancient Greek philosophies, and Hinduism.
Religion Media Centre
religionmediacentre.org.uk › news › explainer-who-are-the-druze-and-why-are-they-at-the-centre-of-tension-in-the-middle-east-today
Explainer: Who are the Druze and why are they at the centre of tension in the Middle East today? - Religion Media Centre
July 21, 2025 - The Druze are a small, secretive religious and ethnic group that originated in the Middle East more than a thousand years ago.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/islam › can druze consider themselves muslim?
Can Druze consider themselves Muslim? : r/islam
December 12, 2020 - I'm from Lebanon and if you ask ... and they have different rituals when it comes to prayers and so on. So, from a purely technical point, Druze aren't muslims....
BBC
bbc.com › news › articles › c70xyv4z74go
Who are the Druze and why is Israel attacking Syria?
Half of its roughly one million followers live in Syria, where they make up about 3% of the population. Druze in Israel are largely considered to be loyal to the state, owing to their participation in military service.
Published July 17, 2025
Sky News
news.sky.com › story › who-are-the-druze-and-who-are-they-fighting-in-syria-13399216
Who are the Druze and who are they fighting in Syria? | World News | Sky News
July 20, 2025 - Diana Darke, an author, Arabist and Middle East cultural writer, told Sky presenter Barbara Serra there are three main Druze factions, two of which are keen to ally with the government, but the third is controlled by anti-government leader Hikmat al Hijri. Sky News special correspondent Alex Crawford says that that faction feels vulnerable and mistrusts the government, who they see as Islamic jihadis. ... Deadly clashes broke out last Sunday in the southern province surrounding the city of Sweida between Druze militias and local Sunni Muslim Bedouin tribes.
Reuters
reuters.com › world › middle-east › who-are-druze-why-does-israel-say-it-is-hitting-syria-their-sake-2025-07-17
Explainer: Who are the Druze and why does Israel say it is hitting Syria for their sake? | Reuters
July 17, 2025 - The Druze are Arabs who follow a religion derived from a branch of Islam. They maintain a degree of secrecy about the practice of their faith that emerged in the 11th century and incorporates elements from Islam and other philosophies, emphasizing ...
Jewish Virtual Library
jewishvirtuallibrary.org › history-and-overview-of-the-israeli-druze
History & Overview of the Israeli Druze
Most of the Druze towns and villages in Israel are populated exclusively by Druze, although over the last century, a minority of Christians and Muslims have become residents in some of them.
Aish
aish.com › current › issues › who are the druze?: 8 facts
Who are the Druze?: 8 Facts | Aish
July 17, 2025 - The Druze are a minority within Israel who thrive while practicing their own religion and living in close-knit communities in Israel’s north. Here are eight facts about the Druze community. The Druze religion began 1100 years ago, in 11th century Egypt, among Shi’ite Muslims.
ONE FOR ISRAEL
oneforisrael.org › home › blog › the druze: key people in israel
The Druze: Key People in Israel - ONE FOR ISRAEL Ministry
March 9, 2025 - To understand the difference between ... there is a huge difference. In the same way, Muslims and Druze are very different even though the roots of the Druze religion came from Islam....
Islam Question & Answer
islamqa.info › en › answers › 26139
A brief look at the beliefs of the Druze - Islam Question & Answer
August 23, 2003 - The Druze originated as a secret sect among the esoteric (baatini) groups that appear outwardly to be Muslim and who sometimes pretend to be religious, ascetic and pious.