DRUZE This research paper traces the origins, h

As of 1988, there were a little less than one million Druze in the world, divided as follows: Lebanon 390,000 (10 percent of the population), Syria 420,000 (three percent), Israel 75,000 (one percent), Jordan 15,000 and about 80,000 scattered throughout Africa, the Americas, Australia and South and East Asia (Betts 7).

In the early 11th century, the Druze began to assume distinctive form in the mountainous regions of southeast Lebanon and in northern areas of Syria, near present day Aleppo and in and around Damascus. Today, most Druze in Syria live in the southern mountains, including about 15,000 in the Golan Heights area which was seized by Israel in 1973. Druze in Lebanon are primarily concentrated in the southeastern Shouf mountain range and in and around the southern port of Sidon and in Beirut. Druze settlements in Israel are in west Galilee and below the northern Israeli border. Crose says their forbears, most of whom came from Mesopotamia and Persia, began to filter into the mountainous area on the slopes of Mount Hermon in the eighth and ninth centuries A.D. "t

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and the Five Pillars of Islam. Their religion also was influenced by Hindu (Vedantic) philosophy. Druze believe in the transmigration of the soul or tanasukh. A finite number of souls have existed since creation. When a man dies, his soul enters a new person (reincarnation). No one can ever be converted to or leave the Druze religion. Only marriages in the Druze religion are recognized. Their rites and sacred writings are secret, not to be disclosed to outsiders. Betts says they have remained since 1043 "a closed and secretive community" (13-14). Unlike most other Muslims, the Druze are monogamous. Divorce is possible but not easily obtained. Women have been allowed to serve as uqhal (sages) and have equal rights to own and dispose of property. Women must, however, be virgins when they marry. According to Ruthven, these and other beliefs were regarded with horror by "all the Sunnis and most other Shi'ites" (206). Crose says "the Druze have been excluded from the fold of Islam" (53). Another important element of Druze faith is truthfulness within the community and its social solidarity, which includes, according to Hodgson, the Ismaili stress on "equal social justice for the common man" (27-28). Religious worship in Druze commun
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Approximate Word count = 1869
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)