Abstract
Around one thousand years have passed since the Druze appeared on the stage of history as bearers of a religion and a philosophy. In the year 1043, at the end of the period of preaching and dissemination, Druze clans were widely dispersed over a broad area that extended from North Africa in the west to India in the East. Since they were a minority, and because of opposition to the new religion, they were persecuted by rulers and by other nations, and many of them died out or were forced to abandon their religion and assimilate into other societies. Historical research has no final and absolute answers regarding the ethnic origins of the Druze. In this article, I will present the various research approaches to their ethnic origins. The first attempts to investigate Druze origins were made by European travelers and researchers, mainly French and English, and also by Philip Hitti, an American scholar of Lebanese origin. The Arab researchers who dealt with this subject are divided in their opinion. Some claim that the Druze are of Arab origin, while others assert that the Druze are descendants of ethnic groups that had once inhabited the region and had died out in the course of history. I will also present the position of some Arab historians and researchers and Israeli Druze of the modern period regarding the origins of the Druze now living in the State of Israel, in Syria, in Jordan, in Lebanon, and in the diaspora.
Highlights
Around one thousand years have passed since the Druze appeared on the stage of history as bearers of a religion and a philosophy
An approach based on a study of the migration movements of early tribes in the Middle East, mainly those that settled in Southern Lebanon during the 11th century – a region where the Druze religion began to be disseminated
During the course of history, the Druze developed a consciousness of themselves as being of pure Arab origins, and that except for their religious cult, their spiritual and material culture was common with all the population of Greater Syria
Summary
"The Druzes of Syria are unique community. Like social fossils in an alien environment, this people has survived for hundreds of years in that land rightly described as a "Babel of tongues" and a "museum of nationalities" [1]. The Druze religion was founded in Egypt during the reign of Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, "Druzism dates back to the year 1017 in Egypt under the leader Caliph alHakim who was a central part of the religion’s development. Al-Hakim was the sixth Fatimid Calip, Talea' Amin claims that the Fatimid caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah was the fifth caliph [3], who ruled during the years 996-1021 CE He received sovereignty after the death of his father before having reached the age of twelve. These hypotheses espouse that Druze emerged from Arabian tribes such as the Tanukhs or Itureans, from Persian populations [10] This question is challenging given the Druze’s original nomadic lifestyle and the development, over time, of their esoteric religion that incorporates Isma’ilism Islam, Judaism, Zoroastrian, Hindu, Christian, Neo-Platonic and Persian influences. This question is challenging given the Druze’s original nomadic lifestyle and the development, over time, of their esoteric religion that incorporates Isma’ilism Islam, Judaism, Zoroastrian, Hindu, Christian, Neo-Platonic and Persian influences. [11]
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