Druzo is a minority in Middle Eastdistributed between Israel, Lebanon and Syriaseeking to maintain her identity and the last days have been targeted by the Syrian government forces, which resulted in the deaths of dozens of people.
The more than a million Drouzes living in the Middle East played a very important role in the founding communities in Lebanon and Syria, ”says Makram Raba, Associate Professor of History at the American University of Beirut
He clarifies that “Druzo is a super-container that transcends space and geography”. Following is an overview of this community that has been opposed to Bedouins in recent days in southern Syria.
The course of the Drungers in time
OR Drouzian thought appeared in Egypt at the beginning of the 11th century as a sect of Shiism. Is still considered a stream of esotericism by the dominant Islam.
Women of the Drouza Community at the Israeli – Syria border / EPA / ATEF SAFADI
Surrounded by a kind of mysticism, incorporates elements such as The belief in the reincarnation of man. “We don’t know who they are as long as they don’t say it,” according to Makram Raba.
The community does not accept prosecution and discourages marriages outside the community. The Religious Festivals of the Drungers coincide with the Muslim calendar.
OR Traditional Droussian clothing is black. Men wear white turban and Women cover head and a part of the face with a long white scarf.
“Where borders have been engraved, the Druzians have not actually recognized them,” says Raba, mainly because marriages are among the Druzes throughout the region.
“Religious leaders play a very important role in maintaining these bonds,” he says.
Before the start of the civil war in 2011, the Syria Number, according to estimates, About 700,000 Drouzes who speak Arabicthe common language of all countries that house a mosaic of communities.
Young boy with the flag of the Drussians in the Golan Heights / EPA / ATEF SAFADI
According to the University, poet and calligraphic Sami Makarem (1931-2012), Druzo started migrating to southern Syria In the 16th century, in a region currently called Jambal al-Drouz, in the province Superstar.
Syrian Drouzes are mainly concentrated in her stronghold Suede, its neighboring province Rail and its surroundings Damascus, Mostly in Jaramana and Sachaya, where religious conflicts were marked in the spring.
In Lebane and in the south, close to border with Israel and Syria, according to estimates.
To Israel, approximately 153,000 Druzo They are Israeli citizens who mainly inhabit the north. Contrary to the rest of the Israeli Arabs, the Druzians are obliged to serve in the army.
Israeli Drouzes with Syrian Druzus at Religious Ceremony / EPA / ATEF SAFADI
On the Syrian plateau of Golan, annexed by Israel, at least 22,000 Druzians have a permanent resident. Only 1,600 agreed to receive Israeli citizenship, while the rest remain committed to their Syrian identity.
The annexation of Golan from Israel separated families, though the derivatives of the attached Golan often went to Syria to study or attend weddings.
Some South Syrian Druzo has also been installed in neighboring Jordan, where the community is estimated to have from 15,000 to 20,000 members. Outside the Middle East, the Drouzic Diaspora lives in North America, Latin America and Australia.
Their role in the Middle East
The Drum leaders was one of the elements that stimulated the nationalism to Middle East From the time of the Ottoman Empire.
To Syria, the Drouzos Sultan Pasha al-Atrashead of an uprising in 1925-27, were preacher her independence her Syria by the France, which was finally acquired in 1946.
In Lebanon, Drouzos leader Kamal Jubland had a key role from the years of 1950 to his murder in 1977 ordered by the Syria during the civil war.
Lebanese / Welsh Jublat / EPA / Wael Hamzeh leader
After the fall of President Bashar al -Assad in December 2024, Israel has multiplied openings to Druzo In Syria, solidarity valued differently by the community.
Walid Jublat, 76, who took the baton from his father, called on Syria’s Druze to reject “Israel’s involvement” and Syrian Druzo leaders reaffirmed their faith in a Single Syria, With some of them calling for international protection after violent incidents in the spring.
To Israel, Drouzos Spiritual Leader Sheikh Mooufak Tarif called on his side The Jewish state to protect the Syrian Druzes.