Druze

I was reading [a book about the Druze](https://www.amazon.com/Origins-Druze-People-Religion/dp/1374863939) when I came across this passage: >The... More on old.reddit.com

As a Druze it is mostly based on the belief of reincarnation. We believe that around 1000AD (can’t remember the exact year), there was a calling and the few who are Druze now, supposedly answered/believed in this call. Considering, the belief of reincarnation, it was your exact soul who denied the call a 1000years ago therefore you have to bear the “consequences”. Please bear in mind this is not a personal attack I am just answering you the way a super religious Druze figure in my home country would word it. More on reddit.com

Quick Summary: An anonymous, offensive audio recording insulting the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ surfaced on the night of April 26. Within 72 hours, sectarian attacks erupted across cities from Aleppo to Sweida: mortar shelling targeted Jaramana and Sahnaya, and the outskirts of Thaala village in Sweida were stormed. Security forces intervened far too late in an attempt to de-escalate and control the attack sites, while calls for violence have continued and the assaults remain ongoing. ⸻ What happened? A chronological timeline verified by multiple sources: • Night of April 26–27: An anonymous voice recording insulting the Prophet ﷺ spreads widely. • Early morning, April 27: Students at Homs University stage protests with sectarian rhetoric and threats to kill Druze classmates. Some Druze students are attacked, one is hospitalized. • April 27: Protests in Homs, Hama, and Damascus escalate into open chants calling for “slaughtering the Druze” and “invading Sweida.” • Night of April 28–29: Militias fire six mortar shells into Jaramana and storm its outskirts. Casualties: At least 6 civilian martyrs, 12+ injured, and over 13 attackers killed. The General Security Directorate intervenes, imposing a cordon around Jaramana, referring to the attackers as extremists and unidentified armed groups according to official state media. • Early morning, April 29: Druze neighborhoods in Sahnaya are attacked; security intervenes to restore order. Groups from Daraa join the attack on Druze in Sahnaya. One Druze martyr is reported. • Evening, April 29: Thaala village in Sweida is attacked with mortars and medium-caliber weapons; a shell also hits the nearby village of Al-Dour. • Evening, April 30: Villages in Sweida come under attack with mortars and medium weapons: Al-Surah al-Kubra, Rassas, ‘Ara, and Kanaker. ⸻ Where is the state? • Slow response: Violence has now spread to three provinces. • No preventive protection: Despite public incitement, no reinforcements or security presence was deployed to protect Druze-populated areas. ⸻ A coordinated incitement campaign: • Sectarian content floods social media, portraying attackers as “martyrs” and inciting violence against Druze. • Incitement spreads across 9 provinces in less than 24 hours. • The offensive recording is falsely attributed to a Druze sheikh, despite his denial, to justify the attacks. • The state fails to deter sectarian militias currently operating on Syrian soil. • Social media has become a tool for justifying bloodshed, turning victims into criminals. https://www.skynewsarabia.com/varieties/1792656-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%AE%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%AA%D8%AF%D8%AE%D9%84-%D8%AE%D8%B7-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%B3%D8%AC%D9%8A%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B5%D9%88%D8%AA%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B3%D9%8A%D9%8A%D9%94-%D9%84%D9%84%D8%B1%D8%B3%D9%88%D9%84?utm_source=chatgpt.com https://english.enabbaladi.net/archives/2025/04/audio-recording-sparks-clashes-in-jaramana/?amp=&so=recent&utm_source=chatgpt.com https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-update-april-29-2025?utm_source=chatgpt.com https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/more-than-dozen-killed-sectarian-clashes-near-syrian-capital-2025-04-29/?utm_source=chatgpt.com https://thecradle.co/articles/deadly-clashes-erupt-between-druze-fighters-syrian-security-forces?utm_source=chatgpt.com https://www.annahar.com/arab-world/arabian-levant/212293/%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%B2%D9%8A-%D9%85%D8%B9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D9%88%D8%AA%D8%B1-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%AC%D8%B1%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%A7-%D9%85%D8%AC%D9%87%D9%88%D9%84%D9%88%D9%86-%D9%8A%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%AC%D9%85%D9%88%D9%86-%D9%85%D8%B7%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AB%D8%B9%D9%84%D8%A9-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%88%D9%8A%D8%AF%D8%A7?utm_source=chatgpt.com More on reddit.com

I've actually been thinking about this issue a lot lately. I think a little bit of a historical context would also help. It is important to know what role the Druze played in the creation of the state of Israel, as well as their allegiances during those tumultuous times. Do they identify with Palestinian culture? Do they subscribe to a Palestinian national identity? Were they just a minority that happened to believe living within a Jewish state didn't infringe on their culture and thus they preferred that to an Arab State? And if so, then why and how did this come about? The Druze of Palestine, and their narrative, are hardly studied or analyzed. But there are some works that I think answer these questions very clearly and thus give us a better picture of their intentions and respective reasoning behind their decision to integrate with all facets of Israeli society, including IDF. A very respected source on this subject is: THE DRUZE BETWEEN PALESTINE AND ISRAEL. By LAILA PARSONS. London, Macmillan Press, 2000. Here is an excerpt of a review on the book published in the British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, 31(1), pp. 97-115. "The Druze in the beginning of the British Mandate in Palestine numbered only seven thousand, i.e. one per cent of the population, at its conclusion in 1948 they numbered almost twenty thousand. One of the main factors that influenced Palestine Druze's future relations was the 1936-1939 revolt, where the Jews recruited two influential Druze (Hasan Abu Rukn and Al-Aysami) to influence Druzes outside Palestine to back Arabs in the revolt. There was also a talk, which never materialised of transferring Palestinian Druze to Jabal Druze in Syria in order to reduce numbers of non-Jews in the areas allocated to Jews in the partition plan of the Peel Commission of 1937. In the early stages of the civil war (1947-1949) the leaders of the Druze community did not express a clear and well-defined pro-Jewish position. Their general reaction to the increasingly violent events was to withdraw and observe. However, those individual Druze who had established links with the Jews during the Mandate were eager to sustain the friendship in the dangerous days of late 1947 and early 1948. Two Druze names (Labib Abu Ruka of Isfiya and Salih Khanayfis of Shafa'amr) came out prominently in advocating Jewish-Druze relationship and cooperation. Family members of both men had been killed by the rebel gangs during the 1936-1939 revolt, and both were unequivocally anti-Muslim and pro-Jewish. The Jews successes in the 1948 war and the emergence of Israel allowed links between the new State of Israel and the Druze to become firmer. This particularly became evident in the battle of Shafacamr where the Druze tricked their Arab fellow combatants. The fall of Shafa'amr made the task of capturing Nazareth much easier. In later secret meetings involving the Druze leader Shaykh Salman Tarif the Druze reiterated their absolute faithfulness towards the State of Israel. This, at one time, lead to the establishment of a Druze unit in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). While the IDF expelled Arab Palestinians, Moslems and Christians, from their villages, the Druze were not expelled. The Druze also enjoyed greater opportunity to seek redress than their Christian and Muslim neighbours. They maintained much more regular and intimate contact with the Jewish community than other Palestinians did, and in particular they had a direct link to the IDF as a result of their service. As Arabs, they had certainly fared better than any other community, and by August 1949, under the leadership of the Tarif family, they had begun to negotiate their communal status with the Ministry of Religious Affairs, in an effort to distinguish them officially from their Christian and Muslim neighbours. As Israelis they would thus be treated better by the State than any other Israeli Arabs, but they nevertheless remained second-class citizens in a Jewish state." So....I think this pretty much sums it up. They were a community that preferred to safeguard their religious minority at the expense of betraying other Palestinian Arabs, of whom they shared a cultural heritage with. The leadership of the Druze community therefore were more concerned about maintaining their survival regardless of the sovereignty of the land. Some argue that if they hadn't done that, then the fate of their small community would have followed other demised minorities, as their populations were densely located in territories under Israeli hegemony at the time. So I guess we can call these actions 'Opportunistic'? Whether their actions in 1947-49 were traitorous towards Palestinian aspirations, there is no doubt. Let's not forget also that they were and still are being used as convenient 'pawns' of Israel and its IDF in the subjugation of other Palestinians. We also see today a growing dissident Druze population within Israel that don't think their many sacrifices for the IDF, whilst not being rewarded by being treated as first class citizens, are worth the pain their communities endure. Here is an interesting clip about an Israeli Druze family that reflects upon their sacrifies for Israel and the IDF: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xrtmcv_druze-soldiers-in-israel-condemn-violence-against-palestinians_news#.UQ6f9aEtqrU However today, the Druze are hardly the reason for the continued lack of Palestinian human rights, and the continued denial of Palestinian self-determination. I think most of that blame lies with rotten Palestinian leadership, both in the PA and the Hamas, as well as the past and continued collusion of Arab dictatorial regimes with Israel to deny Palestinian rights. Once these issues are resolved, Israel will be faced with making peace on an equal footing with Palestinians and Arab neighbouring populations, and NOT with dictators and despots of the Arab world. When this happens in the near future, I see no hurdles in reconciliation with all Israelis, be it Jews or Druze. More on reddit.com