The Druze are a tight-knit social and religious community of mostly Arab descent with an estimated one million members worldwide. Most Druze live in Syria, Lebanon and Israel, and about 40,000 live in the United States. They do not allow conversion to their religion, and only the child of a Druze mother and a Druze father is considered Druze.
Click on the photos below to learn more about the Druze faith, culture and history.
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- The Druze believe in five cosmic principles represented by the five-colored Druze star: Aql the Universal Mind (green); Nafs the Universal Soul (red); Kalima the Truth (yellow); Sabq the Cause (blue) and Tali the Effect (white). Their monotheistic faith is often described as an offshoot of Shia Islam, but does not require ritual prayer or mosque attendance. The Druze holy book is called the Hikme book (or the book of Wisdom).
(Photo by www.metaltraveller.com)
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- The Druze community is divided into two groups: the initiates, called Uqqal (the knowers or intelligent), and the uninitiated lay majority, or Juhhal (ignorant). The Uqqal make up about 20 percent of the Druze population. They participate in religious services and are able to learn the secret teachings of the Druze religious doctrine. As seen in these photos, Uqqal women wear a loose white veil known as the al-mandil, and men wear white turbans. The Juhhal typically wear Western clothes. While they are unfamiliar with the specifics of the Druze religious doctrine, they must be faithful to God, respect elders, and honor women.
(Photos by Ben Aronoff, Fogline Studio, www.flickr.com/photos/fogline)
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- One of the most important Druze gathering sites is the shrine near Tiberias in Israel. Druze gather here on April 25 each year to celebrate their independence as a religious community in Israel, which was granted to them in 1957.
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- Inside of the Druze shrine near Tiberias, Israel, is the tomb of Jethro, their main prophet. Jethro is the father-in-law of Moses, whom Muslims call Shu’ayb. Many Druze view themselves as the descendants of Jethro.
(Photo by Ben Aronoff, Fogline Studio, www.flickr.com/photos/fogline)
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- Due in part to their long history as a persecuted minority, Druze often live in villages that are located on higher ground. In the 1500s Druze villages prospered in the Chouf Mountains of southern Lebanon. The area of southern Syria where they live became known as Jabal al-Druze (mountain of the Druze). Ein Qinya, a Druze village near Mount Hermon Nature Reserve in Syria, is pictured above. A minority of Druze live in the Golan Heights region that Israel seized from Syria in 1967. There are about 120,000 Druze in Israel, or about 1.6 per cent of the population, located in eighteen villages, many of them exclusively Druze. Druze number about 230,000 in Lebanon, and about 420,00 in Syria, or about 4 percent of the population.
(Photo by Fred DeGregorio)
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- The Druze have lived in the Levant (the area bordering the Mediterranean Sea that now includes Syria, Lebanon and Israel) since about 1015. They have a reputation as formidable warriors, which began in 1100 when Crusaders ruled Syria. In 1926, under the military leadership of Sultan Pasha al-Atrash (pictured above), the Druze played a key role in Syria’s fight for independence from the French.
(Photo from Otrakji family collection, www.mideastimage.com)
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- Many Druze have been killed while fighting for the Israeli Defense Forces. The Daliyat Al-Karmel memorial (pictured above) pays them tribute. Druze fought alongside Jews in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war that led to the founding of Israel. Druze also serve in the Israeli government. Five Druze lawmakers have been elected to serve in the Knesset (Israel’s legislature), a disproportionately large number considering their population.
(Photo by Cyndee Trinh)
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- The Druze play a more important role in Lebanese and Syrian politics than their small population would suggest. The Progressive Socialist Party led by Walid Jumblatt (pictured above) is officially secular and non-sectarian, but it is supported mostly by the Druze. It alternately cooperates with dominant Muslim and Christian parties, effectively functioning as a powerful swing vote. (Photo by Ben Aronoff, Fogline Studio, www.flickr.com/photos/fogline)
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- Druze women have always had the right to own and sell property, and most are literate and educated. In the photo above, two Druze students wear regular school uniforms, while the third wears the white veil traditionally worn by initiated Druze women. A woman's honor is one of the most important factors in Druze family life, and its defilement is cause for great humiliation. (Photo by Ben Aronoff, Fogline Studio, www.flickr.com/photos/fogline)
15 Responses to “Slideshow: Who Are the Druze?”
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after view of wide Angle of Druze young woman’s dream, I love these people for their culture and beleives,because I am a muslim and beliver May Alah bless them.
Ben,I love these photos and the information with them. Most of us know nothing or so very little about the Druze. You are doing us a great service. Thank you for coming to our art reception and bringing Bernadette Wulf. You are a very special person to me.
Love,
Suzanne
Sharia law is the most oppressive and unconscionable system of social control in the world today and people who live under its precepts are the most racist and elitist people with no sense of acceptance of others who are different. These Druze people, of whom many attend classes with me the University of Chicago, are among the most elitist of tall Sharia followers and they should not be celebrated but censured.
BANI MAROF THE BEST PEOPLE I BLESS AL THE DRUZ OVER THE WORID I AM FROM THE GALIL IN PALSTINE FROM THE CITY SAHFARAM /
Hi all
Just i want 2 say that , The Druze are the best.
Thanks for the photos.
Dear Thomas,
Aren’t we taught to accept others as they are? If you believe that the Druze are one of the most strict and old-fashioned religions, then yes they are. But it works. Some religions have been known to lose control. The Druze have a good reputaion and are very conservative. But if you think that a religion should be censured, aren’t you being a non-accepting person of another religion? We all accept others religions, and people. I for example, have many friends of all races, hispanic, african american, arabs,and europeans. i love them all so dearly, and all of them can verify that I as a person, am not defined by my religion, but by me. We do not catogorize people by their religions, do we? Do we ONLY have Muslim friends, or Christian friends. I guess not. Just from YOUR experience you shouldn’t make a conclusion based on such a small quantity of people, that our religion is one that should not be celebrated. I respect yours, you should repect mine! thank you! <3
Adele
THOMAS,
I agree, it is a shame that the University of Chicago is admitting such ignorant people into such a fantastic University…….
having said that, I’ll make it clear so that there is no confusion, I am referring to YOU.
I hope in the future, the University of Chicago will use more discretion when admitting.
Thanks! :)
Wow Thomas, I really appreciate your candor… it’s refreshing to know that the frustration in your tone can only be attributed by a level of inadequacy, driving you to comment on a PBS website… entertain me for a moment?
Could it be that at the root of your post are scorned feelings you had developed over one of those classmates? Perhaps you fell for someone who happened to be druze, and she (along with her peers) were unimpressed by your advances. Left wanting more and seeking validation, you wrote off the culture and all of those who are in it. But honestly, who could blame her? Anyone that name drops their alma mater more than likely has self-esteem issues that seem to be mitigated through smear tactics, so I ask you, how long has this behavior gone unchecked?
Normally, I wouldn’t celebrate such deviance but I find it comical in this instance. But unlike you, I wouldn’t want your retort censured. You’re free to speak your mind, but please understand this… despite your claim of being a student at a reputable academic institution, does not make the sound bytes of knowledge that you have acquired (from whatever feeble sources you’re referencing), accurate. Cheers
The Druze religion is one of the few that does not recruit new members, therefore has no adganda. In the Levant and all over the world they are law abiding and if left alone they leave alone. If attacked they fiercely react. We all should be respectful of others religions and at the end it is about how nobly you lived your life and what you leave for humanity.
Hi, really enjoyed this post! Well written.
I don’t understand why both your parents must be Druze in order for you to be considered a Druze. Isn’t this supposed to be about God, and your relationship to Him? In the context of striving to have a divine relationship it doesn’t matter who or what your parents are or were – does it? This seems more racial or cultural rather than religious. I am sorely disappointed.
hi, many may find it racial if they comprehend the idea of never accepting outsiders in this religion. any way this privacy adds comfort to the druze because they aren’t supposed to be missionaries at this time. they keep scilent enough about the religion and interfere with others normally in all other aspects of life.
let us be more logical, to be a religious cristian for example means that you differ quite a lot from a moslem. if two of different religions get married they should naturally keep the religion believes aside to complete their life whether they confess about this or not, they will naturally do this. when i hear lectures that talk about true christianity and how to be a true christian believer, as you should believe in christ as God, i feel for a moment that i’m for sure going to go to hell!! because i’m not a christian. so the point is in reality, religions differ in nature. and to be a believer, you should deal with your religious mattres the way you like as long as it does’t hurt others.
whether your religion is a secret one or not, you are different than the other. in all we are all God’s cerations and we’re here to serve his will for the sake of a better life beside him and in his heaven. all we have to do is work on our souls, nourish them with the good thoughts, and watch the soul grow as we plant good deeds. and after that be happy because we have done the greatest job on earth which is rescuing our self.
i am so moved by these posts, i have few things to say: i, being one of the durze community, want to insist that our culture is no more closed; unlike what dear thomas said, i can’t find a relation between how a man in the university can be ignorant, elitist and don’t accept others as dear thomas claims druze people are. i with all the power inside me proud to be a member of this culture. i respect all other relegions and believe with no difference between all man kind and this is what our masters teached us. we are not just a relegion we are a hub-like machine that is connected to all relegions and people races.
thank you all
The Druze are the Muwahhidoun (Monotheists) with great historical ties to many other people of the planet Earth varified by DNA uniqueness. Read the valid and reliable resources of this flexible and adaptable culture. Remember, tolerance is a form of of arrogance; acceptance is a mature understanding that ALL of GOD’s creation is significant and part of the living balance. This, I learned from my immigrant Lebanese parents who proudly joined the citizenship of the United States of America with total regards for membership in the human race on planet Earth …
The brain occupied the head of the body, and the AL-AKEL inspires and control the brain. Since the DRUZE do understand what is AL-AKEL then they are above the brain. Nature says that humans do refuse what they do not understand, and the reason for not understanding is related heavily to ( IGNORANCE ). Therefore, DRUZES are not responsible for this human ignorance. As one philosopher was asked ” why don’t you write what people understand, he replied why not people understand what I write.) To me you can’t bring a student from the elementary level and ask him to attend and understand fourth year college.