CHAPTER I

A UNIQUE AND SECRET SECT

Two Historical Fossils:—The Druzes of Syria and the Samaritans of Palestine are two unique communities not found elsewhere in the entire world. Like social fossils in an alien environment, these two peoples have survived for hundreds of years in that land rightly described as a "Babel of tongues" A reference to the biblical Tower of Babel, meaning a place of many confusing languages. and a "museum of nationalities."

The Samaritans are the descendants original: "remnants" of the tribes from Assyria and Persia who were resettled original: "transplanted" by Sargon about seven hundred years before Christ. They were brought in to take the place of the "ten tribes" of Israel who were carried away into captivity.¹ They appeared in the life of Christ, as illustrated by the story of the "Samaritan woman" and the parable of the "Good Samaritan." Today, they are represented by about one hundred and eighty people who intermarry among themselves and are rapidly facing extinction. They live in modern Nablus (the biblical Shechem), and their religion is ancient Judaism mixed with surviving pagan elements.

The Druzes do not have such a clear record regarding their origin as a people or as a sect. Their ethnic origins, as well as their ritual practices and religious beliefs, are shrouded in mystery. Appearing for the first time in historical records at Wadi al-Taym near Mount Hermon in the Anti-Lebanon mountains, they emerged as followers who believed in the divinity of the sixth Fatimid original: "Fāṭimite"; a dynasty that ruled parts of North Africa and Egypt. Caliph in Cairo (996—1020 AD). Since then, the Druzes have lived semi-independent lives, secluded in their mountain strongholds original: "fastnesses" in Lebanon. They have remained indifferent to the progress of the world around them and have been almost entirely forgotten by the outside world.

¹ Compare original: "Cf." James A. Montgomery, The Samaritans, the Earliest Jewish Sect (Philadelphia, 1907), pages 46-57.