{{Short description|Druze community in Syria}} {{pp-extended|small=yes}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}} {{Infobox ethnic group |group = Syrian Druze people | image = File:Maqam Ain al-Zaman.jpg | caption = Maqam Ain al-Zaman: The headquarters of the Druze community in Syria |population = 700,000<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-33166043|title= Syria's Druze under threat as conflict spreads|first= Faisal|last= Irshaid|work= BBC News|date= 19 June 2015|access-date= 22 June 2018|archive-date= 6 March 2019|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190306045203/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-33166043|url-status= live}}</ref> |languages = Arabic |religions = Druze |related = |footnotes = }}
The Druze faith is the third-largest religion in Syria with 2010 results recording that their adherents made up 3.2 percent of the population.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/syria/|title=Syria|date=2 May 2023|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|via=CIA.gov|access-date=24 January 2021|archive-date=3 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210203054123/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/syria/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="TheEconomist" /> The Druze are concentrated in the rural, mountainous areas east and south of Damascus in the area of Mount Druze.<ref name="washingtoninstitute.org">{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/druze-and-assad-strategic-bedfellows|title=The Druze and Assad: Strategic Bedfellows|website=The Washington Institute|access-date=4 May 2023|archive-date=25 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190925011935/https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/the-druze-and-assad-strategic-bedfellows|url-status=live}}</ref>
The Druze faith is a monotheistic and Abrahamic religion.<ref>{{cite book|title=America & Islam: Soundbites, Suicide Bombs and the Road to Donald Trump|first=Lawrence|last= Pintak|year= 2019| isbn= 9781788315593| page =86|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Templar Spirit: The Esoteric Inspiration, Rituals and Beliefs of the Knights Templar|first=Margaret|last= Jonas|year= 2011| isbn= 9781906999254| page =83|publisher=Temple Lodge Publishing|quote=[Druze] often they are not regarded as being Muslim at all, nor do all the Druze consider themselves as Muslim}}</ref><ref name="Arab America">{{cite web |title=Are the Druze People Arabs or Muslims? Deciphering Who They Are |url=https://www.arabamerica.com/are-the-druze-people-arabs-or-muslims-deciphering-who-they-are/ |website=Arab America |access-date=13 April 2020 |language=en |date=8 August 2018 |archive-date=20 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191020060455/https://www.arabamerica.com/are-the-druze-people-arabs-or-muslims-deciphering-who-they-are/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="J. Stewart 2008 33">{{cite book|title=The Middle East Today: Political, Geographical and Cultural Perspectives| first=Dona|last= J. Stewart|year=2008| isbn=9781135980795| page = 33|publisher=Routledge|quote= Most Druze do not consider themselves Muslim. Historically they faced much persecution and keep their religious beliefs secrets.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Oxford Handbook of American Islam| first=Yvonne |last=Yazbeck Haddad|year=2014| isbn=9780199862634| page = 142|publisher=Oxford University Press|quote=While they appear parallel to those of normative Islam, in the Druze religion they are different in meaning and interpretation. The religion is considered distinct from the Ismaili as well as from other Muslims belief and practice... Most Druze consider themselves fully assimilated in American society and do not necessarily identify as Muslims..}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Political Role of Minority Groups in the Middle East|first=Ronald|last= De McLaurin |year=1979|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-lZtAAAAMAAJ|series= Praeger Special Studies|isbn=9780030525964|page=114|publisher=Praeger|quote=Theologically, one would have to conclude that the Druze are not Muslims. They do not accept the five pillars of Islam. In place of these principles the Druze have instituted the seven precepts noted above..|access-date= 8 July 2020|archive-date= 27 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240527111337/https://books.google.com/books?id=-lZtAAAAMAAJ|url-status =live}}</ref> Syria has the largest Druze population in the world.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Druze {{!}} History, Religion, & Facts|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Druze|access-date=2021-07-30|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|archive-date=19 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190419172241/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Druze|url-status=live}}</ref> Many Syrian Druze have been living abroad for centuries, particularly in Venezuela.<ref name="Khalifa 2013 loc=6-7">{{citation|last=Khalifa |first=Mustafa |year=2013|title=The impossible partition of Syria|url=http://www.arab-reform.net/en/node/510 |journal=Arab Reform Initiative |pages=6–7 |access-date=31 January 2023 |archive-date=9 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161009155010/http://www.arab-reform.net/en/node/510 |url-status=live }}</ref>
==History== {{update section|Need to include Syrian civil war|date=August 2023}} The Druze faith is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion that is a gnostic offshoot and Neoplatonist sect of Isma'ilism, a branch of Shia Islam. The Druze evolved from Islam and now are an independent religion.<ref name="Arab America"/>
Historically, the relationship between the Druze and Muslims has been characterized by intense persecution of the Druze.<ref>{{cite book|title=Historical Dictionary of the Druzes| first=Samy|last=Swayd|year= 2015| isbn= 9781442246171| page = 132|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|quote= Some Muslim rulers and jurists have advocated the persecution of members of the Druze Movement beginning with the seventh Fatimi Caliph Al-Zahir, in 1022. A recurring period of persecutions in subsequent centuries ... failure to elucidate their beliefs and practices, have contributed to the ambiguous relationship between Muslims and Druzes}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Conflict in the Modern Middle East: An Encyclopedia of Civil War, Revolutions, and Regime Change| first=Jonathan|last= K. Zartman|year= 2020| isbn=9781440865039| page = 199|publisher=ABC-CLIO|quote= Historically, Islam classified Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians as protected “People of the Book,” a secondary status subject to payment of a poll tax. Nevertheless, Zoroastrians suffered significant persecution. Other religions such as the Alawites, Alevis, and Druze often suffered more.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Marriage, Divorce, and Succession in the Druze Family: A Study Based on Decisions of Druze Arbitrators and Religious Courts in Israel and the Golan Heights| first=Aharôn|last= Layiš|year= 1982| isbn=9789004064126| page = 1|publisher=BRILL|quote= the Druze religion, though originating from the Isma'lliyya, an extreme branch of the Shia, seceded completely from Islam and has, therefore, experienced periods of persecution by the latter.}}</ref> The Druze faith is often classified as a branch of Isma'ili. Even though the faith originally developed out of Ismaili Islam, most Druze do not identify as Muslims.<ref name="Arab America"/><ref name="J. Stewart 2008 33"/><ref>{{cite book|title=The Oxford Handbook of American Islam| first=Yvonne |last=Yazbeck Haddad|year=2014| isbn=9780199862634| page = 142|publisher=Oxford University Press|quote=While they appear parallel to those of normative Islam, in the Druze religion they are different in meaning and interpretation. The religion is considered distinct from the Ismaili as well as from other Muslim's belief and practice... Most Druze consider themselves fully assimilated in American society and do not necessarily identify as Muslims..}}</ref> The Druze follow a ''batini'' or esoteric interpretation of the Five Pillars of Islam: thus, they do not accept fasting during the month of Ramadan, making a pilgrimage to Mecca, or accepting Muhammad as a prophet of God.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Political Role of Minority Groups in the Middle East |first=Ronald |last=De McLaurin |year=1979 |isbn=978-0-03-052596-4 |page=114 |publisher=Michigan University Press |quote=Theologically, one would have to conclude that the Druze are not Muslims. They do not accept the five pillars of Islam. In place of these principles the Druze have instituted the seven precepts noted above..}}</ref> The Druze have frequently experienced persecution by different Muslim regimes such as the Shia Fatimid Caliphate,<ref>{{cite book |title=The Druze between Palestine and Israel 1947–49 |first=L. |last=Parsons |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-230-59598-9 |page=2 |publisher=Springer |quote=With the succession of al-Zahir to the Fatimid caliphate a mass persecution (known by the Druze as the period of the ''mihna'') of the Muwaḥḥidūn was instigated ...}}</ref> Sunni Ayyubid Sultanate, Mamluk Sultanate, Ottoman Empire,<ref>{{cite book |title=Middle East Conflicts from Ancient Egypt to the 21st Century: An Encyclopedia and Document Collection [4 volumes] |first=Spencer C. |last=C. Tucker |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-4408-5353-1 |pages=364–366 |publisher=ABC-CLIO}}</ref> and Egypt Eyalet.<ref>Taraze Fawaz, Leila. ''An occasion for war: civil conflict in Lebanon and Damascus in 1860''. p.63.</ref><ref name="goren">Goren, Haim. ''Dead Sea Level: Science, Exploration and Imperial Interests in the Near East.'' p.95-96.</ref> The persecution of the Druze included massacres, demolishing Druze prayer houses and holy places and forced conversion to Islam.<ref>{{cite book |title=Middle East Conflicts from Ancient Egypt to the 21st Century: An Encyclopedia and Document Collection [4 volumes] |first=Spencer C. |last=C. Tucker |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-4408-5353-1 |page=364 |publisher=ABC-CLIO}}</ref> According to the Druze narrative, those were no ordinary killings, but attempts to eradicate the whole community.<ref>{{cite book |title=Middle Eastern Minorities: The Impact of the Arab Spring |first=Ibrahim |last=Zabad |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-317-09672-6 |publisher=Routledge}}</ref> Since they do not fast during the month of Ramadan or make pilgrimages to Mecca, they are not regarded by Muslims as Islamic.<ref name="Incorporated1996">{{cite book|author=James Lewis|author-link=James R. Lewis (scholar)|title=The Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religions|url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=1615927387|year=2002|publisher=Prometheus Books}}</ref>
The Druze follow a lifestyle of isolation where no conversion is allowed, neither out of nor into, the religion. When Druze live among people of other religions, they try to blend in, in order to protect their religion and their own safety.{{cn|date=April 2023}} They can pray as Muslims, or as Christians, depending on where they are. This system is apparently changing in modern times, where more security has allowed Druze to be more open about their religious belonging.<ref>{{cite web |title=Druze |url=http://www.druze.org.au/religion/ |date=2015 |publisher=druze.org.au |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160214100847/http://www.druze.org.au/religion/ |archive-date=2016-02-14 }}</ref>
The Tanukhids inaugurated the Druze community in Syria when most of them accepted and adopted the new message that was being preached in the 11th century, due to their leadership's close ties with Fatimid caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah.<ref>{{cite book |author1=William Harris|title=Lebanon: A History, 600-2011|date=19 July 2012|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780195181111 |page=46 |edition=illustrated}}</ref>
The Druze community in Syria played an important role in the formation of the modern state of Syria, and even though they are a minority they play an important role in the Syrian political scene.
[[File:Druze warriors.jpg|thumb|left|Druze warriors preparing to go to battle with Sultan al-Atrash, 1925]] In Syria, most Druze live in the Jabal al-Druze, a rugged and mountainous region in the southwest of the country, which is more than 90 percent Druze inhabited; some 120 villages are exclusively so.<ref name=landis>{{cite web | url = http://faculty-staff.ou.edu/L/Joshua.M.Landis-1/Joshua_Landis_Druze_and_Shishakli.htm | title=Shishakli and the Druzes: Integration and intransigence|first= Joshua|last=Landis|work=The Syrian Land: Processes of Integration and Fragmentation|location=Stuttgart|publisher=Franz Steiner Verlag| year=1998|pages=369–96|editor1-first= T|editor1-last=Philipp|editor2-first=B|editor2-last=Schäbler|access-date=28 June 2015|archive-date=24 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724161742/http://faculty-staff.ou.edu/L/Joshua.M.Landis-1/Joshua_Landis_Druze_and_Shishakli.htm | url-status=live}}</ref>{{Rp| needed =yes|date=April 2012}} The Yaman were defeated by the Qays at the Battle of Ain Dara in Lebanon, which led to the Druze settling in the area.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://newlinesmag.com/reportage/syrias-druze-have-run-out-of-patience-with-assad/ | title=Syria's Druze Have Run Out of Patience With Assad|first=Makram|last=Rabah|work=New Lines Magazine|date=5 October 2023|access-date=12 May 2025}}</ref> Other notable communities live in the Harim Mountains, the Damascus suburb of Jaramana, and on the southeast slopes of Mount Hermon. A large Syrian Druze community historically lived in the Golan Heights, but following wars with Israel in 1967 and 1973, many of these Druze fled to other parts of Syria; most of those who remained live in a handful of villages in the disputed zone, while only a few live in the narrow remnant of Quneitra Governorate that is still under effective Syrian control.
thumb|right|Druze celebrating their independence in 1925. The Druze always played a far more important role in Syrian politics than its comparatively small population would suggest. With a community of little more than 100,000 in 1949 or roughly three percent of the Syrian population, the Druze of Syria's southwestern mountains constituted a potent force in Syrian politics and played a leading role in the nationalist struggle against the French. Under the military leadership of Sultan al-Atrash, the Druze provided much of the military force behind the Great Syrian Revolt of 1925–27. In 1945, Amir Hasan al-Atrash, the paramount political leader of the Jabal Druze State, led the Druze military units in a successful revolt against the French, making the Jebel al-Druze the first and only region in Syria to liberate itself from French rule without British assistance. At independence, the Druze made confident by their successes, expected that Damascus would reward them for their many sacrifices on the battlefield. They demanded to keep their autonomous administration and many political privileges accorded them by the French and sought generous economic assistance from the newly independent government.<ref name=landis />{{Rp| needed =yes|date=April 2012}}
[[File:SyrianDouroze.jpg|thumb|left|Druze leaders meeting in Jabal al-Druze, Syria, 1926]] When a local paper in 1945 reported that President Shukri al-Quwatli (1943–49) had called the Druzes a "dangerous minority", Sultan Pasha al-Atrash flew into a rage and demanded a public retraction. If it were not forthcoming, he announced, the Druzes would indeed become "dangerous" and a force of 4,000 Druze warriors would "occupy the city of Damascus." Quwatli could not dismiss Sultan Pasha's threat. The military balance of power in Syria was tilted in favor of the Druzes, at least until the military builds up during the 1948 War in Palestine. One advisor to the Syrian Defense Department warned in 1946 that the Syrian army was "useless", and that the Druzes could "take Damascus and capture the present leaders in a breeze."<ref name=landis />{{Rp| needed =yes|date=April 2012}}
During the four years of Adib Shishakli's rule in Syria (December 1949 to February 1954) (on 25 August 1952: Shishakli created the Arab Liberation Movement (ALM), a progressive party with pan-Arabist and socialist views),<ref>{{Citation|url=http://www.syrianhistory.com/node/3379|title= Syrian History|access-date=28 June 2015|archive-date=31 March 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090331081317/http://www.syrianhistory.com/node/3379|url-status=live}}</ref> the Druze community was subjected to a heavy attack by the Syrian government. Shishakli believed that among his many opponents in Syria, the Druzes were the most potentially dangerous, and he was determined to crush them. He frequently proclaimed: "My enemies are like a serpent: the head is the Jebel al-Druze, the stomach Homs, and the tail Aleppo. If I crush the head the serpent will die." Shishakli dispatched 10,000 regular troops to occupy the Jebel al-Druze. Several towns were bombarded with heavy weapons, killing scores of civilians and destroying many houses. According to Druze accounts, Shishakli encouraged neighboring Bedouin tribes to plunder the defenseless population and allowed his own troops to run amok.<ref name = landis />{{Rp| needed =yes|date=April 2012}}
Shishakli launched a campaign to defame the Druzes for their religion and politics. He accused the entire community of treason, at times claiming they were agents of the British and Hashemites, at others that they were fighting for Israel against the Arabs. He even produced a cache of Israeli weapons allegedly discovered in the Jabal. Even more painful for the Druze community was his publication of "falsified Druze religious texts" and false testimonials ascribed to leading Druze sheikhs designed to stir up sectarian hatred. This propaganda also was broadcast in the Arab world, mainly Egypt. Shishakli was assassinated in Brazil on 27 September 1964 by a Druze seeking revenge for Shishakli's bombardment of the Jebel al-Druze.<ref name=landis />{{Rp| needed =yes|date=April 2012}} [[File:Maqam Al-masih.jpg|thumb|Maqam al-Masih (Jesus) in As-Suwayda Governorate.]] He forcibly integrated minorities into the national Syrian social structure; his "Syrianization" of Alawi and Druze territories had to be accomplished in part using violence. To this end, al-Shishakli encouraged the stigmatization of minorities. He saw minority demands as tantamount to treason. His increasingly chauvinistic notions of Arab nationalism were predicated on the denial that "minorities" existed in Syria.<ref>{{Citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ecTTlytIjswC&pg=PA41|title=Syria's Kurds: History, Politics and Society| author=Jordi Tejel|author-link=Jordi Tejel|publisher=Taylor & Francis/Google|date=2008|isbn = 9780203892114}}</ref>{{Rp| needed =yes|date=April 2012}}
After the Shishakli's military campaign, the Druze community lost a lot of its political influence, but many Druze military officers played an important role when it came to the Ba'ath government previously ruling Syria.<ref name=landis />{{Rp| needed =yes|date=April 2012}}
In 1967, a community of Druze in the Golan Heights came under Israeli control, today about 150,000 strong.<ref name="CBS13">{{cite web|url=https://www.cbs.gov.il/he/mediarelease/DocLib/2019/122/11_19_122b.pdf|title=The Druze population in Israel - a collection of data on the occasion of the Prophet Shuaib holiday|date=2019-04-17|work=CBS - Israel|publisher=Israel Central Bureau of Statistics|access-date=2019-05-08|archive-date=17 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191217033155/https://www.cbs.gov.il/he/mediarelease/DocLib/2019/122/11_19_122b.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
=== Syrian civil war === The Qalb Loze massacre was a reported massacre of 20–24 Syrian Druze on 10 June 2015 in the village of Qalb Loze in Syria's northwestern Idlib Governorate.
{{Main|2018 As-Suwayda attacks}} On 25 July, 2018, a group of Islamic State-affiliated attackers entered the Druze city of as-Suwayda and initiated a series of gunfights and suicide bombings on its streets killing at least 258 people, the vast majority of them civilians.
==== Fall of the Assad regime ====
[[File:Syria’s Druze Await New Government Before Laying Down Arms ｜ Voa News.webm|thumbtime=0:31|thumb|right|VOA report from January 2025 about Druze sentiments right after the fall of Assad]] Following the fall of the Assad regime, news were shared on social media to claim that the Druze population living in Hader, Quneitra Governorate of wishing to be under Israeli rule. This information, based on a non-verified video showing one individual expressing his opinion in a public gathering, has been repeated by mainstream media.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Confino |first=Jotam |date=2024-12-14 |title=Druze in Syria 'fear new Isis-like leaders and want Israeli rule' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/12/14/druze-in-syria-fear-isis-like-government-want-israeli-rule/ |access-date=2024-12-15 |work=The Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235 |archive-date=15 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241215112058/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/12/14/druze-in-syria-fear-isis-like-government-want-israeli-rule/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The local leaders recorded a collective announcement on December 13, 2024, to deny these allegations and to denounce the Israeli occupation of their village.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Al-Ghanoushi |first=Soumaya|date=2024-12-13 |title=The Hadar Druzes are denying their alleged request to join Israel |url=https://meemmagazine.net/index.php/post/%D8%AF%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%B2-%D9%82%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%AD%D8%B6%D8%B1-%D9%8A%D9%86%D9%81%D9%88%D9%86-%D8%B7%D9%84%D8%A8%D9%87%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%B6%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%85-%D8%A5%D9%84%D9%89-%D8%A5%D8%B3%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A6%D9%8A%D9%84 |work=Meem Magazine |language=ar-SY}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=March 2025}} <!-- The source has been described as antisemitic by another editor. It seems to be strongly anti-Israel, but its English language reporting is not anti-Jew. Further investigation or a more neutral source is needed. --> Syrian Druze leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri denounced the Israeli invasion of Syria, stressing the need to maintain support for Syria's "social and territorial unity".<ref>{{Cite web |title= Top Syrian Druze leader condemns Israeli invasion|publisher=Middle East Eye |date= |url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/top-syrian-druze-leader-condemns-israeli-invasion |archive-date=February 11, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250211135954/https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/top-syrian-druze-leader-condemns-israeli-invasion }}</ref>
In December 2024, the Druze formed the Suwayda Military Council (SMC) in response to growing security concerns after the fall of the Assad regime.<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |date=25 February 2025 |title=المجلس العسكري في السويداء يعلن انطلاق عمله: هل يعد نواة لتشكيل إقليم الدروز؟ |trans-title=The Military Council in Sweida announces the start of its work: Is it the nucleus for the formation of the Druze region? |url=https://elmanshar.com/2025/02/24/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%AC%D9%84%D8%B3-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B3%D9%83%D8%B1%D9%8A-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%88%D9%8A%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%A1-%D9%8A%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%B7%D9%84%D8%A7/ |access-date=18 July 2025 |work=موقع المنشر الاخبارى |language=ar}}</ref>
On 14 March, 2025, a hundred Druze sheikhs arrived from Syria to Israel for a historic visit to a Druze prophet's shrine. <ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-03-14 |title=Druze sheikhs arrive in Israel from Syria in historic visit to prophet's shrine |url=https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-846089 |access-date=2025-03-14|website=The Jerusalem Post |language=en |issn=0792-822X}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ula |first=enab10 |date=2025-03-14 |title=Syrian Druze delegation visits Israel for first time in decades |url=https://english.enabbaladi.net/archives/2025/03/syrian-druze-delegation-visits-israel-for-first-time-in-decades/ |access-date=2025-03-14 |website=Enab Baladi |language=en-US |archive-date=14 March 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250314205438/https://english.enabbaladi.net/archives/2025/03/syrian-druze-delegation-visits-israel-for-first-time-in-decades/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
In late March, Syrian Druze cleric Youssef Jarbou stated that the Druze community shares a "harmonic" relationship with the Kurdish-led Rojava. This includes a "significant alignment" of "demands and efforts", and that the Druze and Kurdish communities have a "shared political vision, particularly regarding Syria’s future". He also believed that the 2025 Interim Constitution drafted by the Syrian caretaker government "does not rise up to the aspirations of the Syrian people", and that he sees the newly-established transitional government as "monopolized by one group" and creates fears for a "non-participatory state".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Druze, Kurds share 'harmonic' relationship, vision for Syria's future: Senior Druze cleric |publisher=Rudaw |date=March 26, 2025 |url=https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/260320253 |archive-date=March 27, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250327000223/https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/260320253 }}</ref>
==== Conflict with the Syrian transitional government ==== Between late April and early May 2025, there were violent clashes between local Druze communities and Syrian government forces in parts of southern Syria.<ref>{{Cite web |title="فيديو - تحليق مكثف للطيران الإسرائيلي فوق السويداء وإطلاق بالونات حرارية" |publisher=Al Mashhad (in Arabic) |date=July 14, 2025 |url=https://almashhad.com/article/773112298002792-News/642794831310351-فيديو-تحليق-مكثف-للطيران-الإسرائيلي-فوق-ريف-السويداء-وإطلاق-بالونات-حرارية/ |access-date=16 July 2025 |archive-date=20 August 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250820235811/https://almashhad.com/article/773112298002792-News/642794831310351-فيديو-تحليق-مكثف-للطيران-الإسرائيلي-فوق-ريف-السويداء-وإطلاق-بالونات-حرارية/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
On 11 July 2025, new a series of clashes between Bedouin and Druze of armed groups began in the Suwayda governate. According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, more than 1,120 Druze were killed in the clash, 194 of whom were "executed" by "defence and interior ministry personnel."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Donnison |first=Jon |last2=Hartmann |first2=Rebecca |date=2025-07-20 |title=Syria: Bedouins tell BBC they could return to fighting Druze |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwykzznepw0o |access-date=2025-07-23 |website=BBC News |place=Suweida province, Syria |language=en-GB}}</ref> That same non-governmental monitor reported that 354 government security personnel and 21 Sunni Bedouin were killed in the conflict, with three executed by Druze fighters, and an additional 15 government troops killed by Israeli airstrikes. According to the United Nations migration agency, 128,000 people were displace by the conflict.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Sinjab |first=Lina |date=2025-07-18 |title=Suweida: Druze residents describe 'bloodbath' in Syrian city |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y76e9p1gno |access-date=2025-07-23 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref> Videos shared on social media, as well as reports to and documented by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and BBC News, showed violence committed against civilian Druze population from the government, as well as from Bedouin forces, including unarmed civilians being shot and houses being torched.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Simony |first=Jack |title=Silence on Druze massacres in Syria echoes historical silence to the Holocaust {{!}} Opinion |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2025/07/21/druze-massacre-silence-echoes-holocaust-opinion/85312894007/ |access-date=2025-07-23 |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Holyoke |first=Gregory |date=2025-07-23 |title=Exclusive: Who are Syria's Druze and why are they under attack? |url=https://www.euronews.com/2025/07/23/exclusive-who-are-syrias-druze-and-why-are-they-under-attack |access-date=2025-07-23 |website=euronews |language=en}}</ref> Following these, the Syrian Armed Forces and the General Security Service were dispatched to the region. The Israeli Airforce was also reported in the area during the conflict. <ref>{{Cite web |title=Deadly Syria clashes continue for second day outside Damascus |work=The Guardian |date=April 30, 2025 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/apr/30/deadly-syria-clashes-continue-for-second-day-outside-damascus }}</ref> On July 15 and 16 agreements on the integration of the Suwayda governate into the Syrian state were announced.<ref>{{Cite web |title="اتفاق في السويداء على الاندماج الكامل ضمن الدولة ووقف إطلاق النار" |publisher=Syria TV (in Arabic) |date=July 16, 2025 |url=https://www.syria.tv/اتفاق-في-السويداء-على-الاندماج-الكامل-ضمن-الدولة-ووقف-إطلاق-النار }}</ref> Following further clashes between Syrian Government forces and Druze, as well as Israeli Airstrikes in Damascus, a withdrawal of the Syrian Armed Forces from the region was announced. <ref>{{Cite web |title= Syrian forces withdraw from Sweida after days of clashes with Druze fighters |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/17/syrian-president-condemns-israels-attacks-on-damascus-and-vows-to-protect-druze-community |work=The Guardian |date=July 17, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Syria Agrees to Cease-Fire in Sweida after Israeli Attack on Damascus|url=https://www.nytimes.com/video/world/middleeast/100000010288192/syria-israel-airstrike.html|work=The New York Times|date=July 17, 2025|access-date=17 July 2025|archive-date=17 July 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250717092640/https://www.nytimes.com/video/world/middleeast/100000010288192/syria-israel-airstrike.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
On 23 August 2025, following the conflict with the Syrian transitional government, multiple Druze factions under Hikmat al-Hijri formed the National Guard of Suwayda to coordinate military and security efforts in the governorate.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Syrian factions in Suwayda form 'National Guard' |url=https://shafaq.com/en/Middle-East/Syrian-factions-in-Suwayda-form-National-Guard |website=Shafaq News |date=23 August 2025 |access-date=24 August 2025 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250824081314/https://shafaq.com/en/Middle-East/Syrian-factions-in-Suwayda-form-National-Guard |archive-date=24 August 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref>
==Demographics== {{Druze|Related topics}} According to scholar Colbert C. Held of University of Nebraska–Lincoln, the number of Druze people worldwide is around one million, with about 45% to 50% living in Syria, 35% to 40% living in Lebanon, and less than 10% living in Israel; recently there has been a growing Druze diaspora.<ref>{{cite book|title=Middle East Patterns: Places, People, and Politics| first=Colbert|last= C. Held|year= 2008| isbn= 9780429962004| page =109|publisher=Routledge|quote= Worldwide, they number 1 million or so, with about 45 to 50 percent in Syria, 35 to 40 percent in Lebanon, and less than 10 percent in Israel. Recently there has been a growing Druze diaspora.}}</ref> The Syrian Druze are Arabic in language and culture, and their mother tongue is Arabic. The Druze Arabic dialect, especially in the rural areas, is often different from the other regional Syrian Arabic dialects. Druze Arabic dialect is distinguished from others by retention of the phoneme /''qāf''/.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Samy Swayd|title=Historical Dictionary of the Druzes|date=10 March 2015|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-1-4422-4617-1|page=50|edition=2|quote=}}</ref> The use of {{IPAslink|q}} by Druze is particularly prominent in the mountains and less so in urban areas.
The Druze are concentrated in the rural, mountainous areas east and south of Damascus in the area known officially as Jabal al-Druze. The Syrian Druze are estimated to constitute 3.2% of Syria's population of approximately 23 million, which means they amount to between 700 and 736 thousand people.<ref name="USdos">{{cite web |title=Syria - International Religious Freedom Report 2006 |url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71432.htm |year=2006 |publisher=U.S. Department of State |access-date=2009-06-28 |archive-date=22 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190722104603/https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71432.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="TheEconomist">{{cite book |year=2014 |title=The Economist |volume=390 (8618–24) |page=49 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ub8aAQAAMAAJ |access-date=23 September 2016 |archive-date=28 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240328121343/https://books.google.com/books?id=ub8aAQAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>
Before the Syrian civil war, it's been estimated that around 700,000 Druze were living in Syria in 2010, or around 3% of the Syrian population.<ref name="washingtoninstitute.org"/> Around 337,500 Druze lived in As-Suwayda Governorate (or 48.2% of total Syrian Druze), the only governorate in Syria that has a Druze majority (around 90%).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-13505.html|title=Syria - Sunnis|website=www.country-data.com|access-date=12 May 2020|archive-date=23 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023233708/http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-13505.html|url-status=live}}</ref> While 250,000 Druze (or 35.7%) lived in Damascus and its outskirts (such as Jaramana, Sahnaya, and Jdeidat Artouz), and around 30,000 Druze lived in the east side of Mount Hermon, and around 25,000 Druze lived in 14 villages in Jabal al-Summaq in Idlib Governorate.<ref name="washingtoninstitute.org"/>
There are many Syrian Druze also living abroad, particularly in Latin America, who have been living there for over the past hundred years.<ref name="Khalifa 2013 loc=6-7"/> In Venezuela, there are approximately 60,000 Druze of Syrian origin.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sending relief--and a message of inclusion and love—to our Druze sisters and brothers |url=https://www.juf.org/news/jerusalem.aspx?id=451177 |year=2021 |publisher=JUF |access-date=2021-12-24 |archive-date=15 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211115024250/https://www.juf.org/news/jerusalem.aspx?id=451177 |url-status=live }}</ref>
By one estimate made by Elisabet Granli from University of Oslo, around 1,920 Syrian Druze converted to Christianity;<ref name="duo.uio.no">{{cite journal | last1 = Granli | first1 = Elisabet | title = Religious conversion in Syria : Alawite and Druze believers | journal = University of Oslo | date = 2011 | url = https://www.duo.uio.no/handle/10852/16181 | access-date = 16 May 2020 | archive-date = 29 April 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210429001607/https://www.duo.uio.no/handle/10852/16181 | url-status = live }}</ref> according to the same study, Druze converts to Christianity still regard themselves as Druze,<ref name="duo.uio.no"/> and they claim that there is no contradiction between being Druze and being Christian.<ref name="duo.uio.no"/>
==Notable people== * Most prominent Druze families in Syria are: al-Atrash and Al Hamdan.<ref name="Firro42">Firro 1992, p. 42.</ref>
===Politicians=== *Sultan al-Atrash<ref>{{cite book |last = Provence |first = Michael |title = The Great Syrian Revolt and the Rise of Arab Nationalism |url = https://archive.org/details/greatsyrianrevol00prov|url-access = limited|publisher = University of Texas Press|year = 2005|page = [https://archive.org/details/greatsyrianrevol00prov/page/n19 3] |isbn = 0-292-70680-4}}</ref> *Hilal al-Atrash, Minister of local administration and environment (2000–2009) *Mansur al-Atrash, Minister of Labor and Social Affairs (1963–1964)<ref>{{cite book |last=Batatu |first=Hanna |title=Syria's Peasantry, the Descendants of Its Lesser Rural Notables, and Their Politics |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-691-00254-5 |page=28}}</ref> *Shibli al-Aysami, Vice President of Syria (1965–1966)<ref name="SPT2003">{{cite news|last1=Gunson|first1=Phil|last2=Adams|first2=David|title=Venezuela Shifts Control of Border|work=St.Petersburg Times|date=28 November 2003|ref=1A}}</ref> *Salim Hatum<ref name="Batatu148">Batatu, pp. 148–149.</ref> *Muhsina al-Mahithawi, Governor of Suwayda (2024–present) *Amjad Badr, Minister for Agriculture and Agrarian Reform (2025–present)
===Singers=== *Asmahan<ref name="Images of Enchantment. p. 82">{{citation |last=Zuhur |first=Sherifa |title=Images of Enchantment: Visual and Performing Arts of the Middle East |publisher=American University in Cairo Press |year=1998 |isbn=977-424-467-2 |page=82}}</ref> *Farid al-Atrash<ref>{{cite book|last=Provence|first=Michael|title=The great Syrian revolt and the rise of Arab nationalism|publisher=University of Texas Press|year=2005|edition=illustrated|page=72|isbn=978-0-292-70680-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ej8ZMk1822sC&q=sultan+al+atrash&pg=PA72|access-date=26 August 2021|archive-date=27 May 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240527112200/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ej8ZMk1822sC&q=sultan+al+atrash&pg=PA72#v=snippet&q=sultan%20al%20atrash&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> *Fahd Ballan<ref>{{cite book |title=Colors of enchantment: theater, dance, music and the visual arts of the Middle East |url=https://archive.org/details/colorsenchantmen00zuhu |url-access=limited |author-link=Sherifa Zuhur |last=Zuhur |first=Sherifa |page=[https://archive.org/details/colorsenchantmen00zuhu/page/n310 296] |year=2001 |publisher=American University in Cairo Press |isbn=978-977-424-607-4 }}</ref>
===Actors=== *Naji Jaber *Lilia al-Atrash *{{ill|Marah Jaber|ar|مرح جبر}} *{{ill|Leila Jaber|ar|ليلى جبر}} *Jumana Murad *{{ill|Adham Morshed|ar|أدهم مرشد}} *{{ill|Khaled Al Qeesh|ar|خالد القيش}} *{{ill|Rafi Wahbi|ar|رافي وهبي}} *{{ill|Ghazwan Safadi|ar|غزوان الصفدي}}
===Sports=== *Raja Rafe
===Miscellaneous=== *Faisal al-Qassem, Talk show host{{citation needed|date=November 2020}} *Nawaf Ghazaleh *Issam Zahreddine, military officer<ref name="MEF">{{Citation |last=Gambill |first=Gary C. |year=2013 |title=Syrian Druze: Toward Defiant Neutrality |work=Middle East Forum |url=http://www.meforum.org/3463/syrian-druze-neutrality |access-date=9 July 2013 |archive-date=30 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930065505/https://www.meforum.org/3463/syrian-druze-neutrality |url-status=live }}</ref> *Luna al-Shibl, Al Jazeera anchorwoman, adviser to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad (died in July 2024)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://apnews.com/article/syria-assad-adviser-shibl-dies-car-crash-d5cc5fd5b268df33b88003130771180a|title=Special adviser to Syrian President Assad dies following car crash under unclear circumstances|date=5 July 2024|work=Associated Press|access-date=12 May 2025|archive-date=7 December 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241207100025/https://apnews.com/article/syria-assad-adviser-shibl-dies-car-crash-d5cc5fd5b268df33b88003130771180a|url-status=live}}</ref> *Hassan Al Kontar, Syrian refugee<ref name=love>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/jan/07/syrian-who-lived-in-airport-new-life-canada-hassan-al-kontar|title='You can feel the love': Syrian who lived in airport on new life in Canada|first=Kate|last=Hodal|date=7 January 2019|work=The Guardian|access-date=27 November 2020|archive-date=18 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190918062242/https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/jan/07/syrian-who-lived-in-airport-new-life-canada-hassan-al-kontar|url-status=live}}</ref>
==See also== * Jabal al-Druze * Druze * Islam in Syria * Religion in Syria * Jabal Druze State * Jaysh al-Muwahhideen
==References== {{Reflist}} {{Druze footer}} {{Demographics of Syria}}
Category:Religion in Syria Category:Druze in Syria