The Origins of the Druze People and Religion

...feudal lord Lebanon produced. Though he was the governor of the Druze mountain, Bashīr was a "crypto-Christian" A "crypto-Christian" is someone who practices Christianity in secret while publicly adhering to another faith—in this case, appearing as a Druze or Muslim for political reasons., and it was his help that Napoleon Bonaparte requested in 1799 during his military campaign against Syria.

After securing his control over Syria between 1831 and 1838, Ibrāhīm Pasha—the son of the Egyptian viceroy a governor ruling as a representative of a monarch Muḥammad ‘Alī Pasha—made a disastrous mistake. He attempted to disarm the Christians and Druze of Lebanon and tried to draft the Druze into his army. This policy violated the long-standing tradition of independence held by these mountain people and sparked a general uprising against Egyptian rule. For their own political reasons, the British encouraged this rebellion. The Druze of Wādī-al-Taym and the Hauran A volcanic plateau in southwestern Syria., led by Shiblī al-‘Aryān, became famous for their fierce resistance at their nearly unreachable headquarters in al-Laja, southeast of Damascus. It is in this same location that the Druze have held out against the French for the last two years This refers to the Great Syrian Revolt against the French Mandate, which began in 1925. under the leadership of Sulṭān Pasha al-Aṭrash.

Druzes and Christians Grouped in Political Rather than Religious Parties

The conquest of Syria by Muslim Arabs in the middle of the 7th century introduced two political factions to the land, later known as the Qaysites and the Yemenites These were ancient tribal divisions: the Qaysites were northern Arabs (Bedouins), while the Yemenites were southern Arabs who were often seen as more settled and cultured.. In Lebanon, these party lines actually blurred racial and religious boundaries. People joined one side or the other based on political loyalty rather than their religious faith. The bloody feuds between these two factions eventually depleted the population of Lebanon. These conflicts ended in 1711 at the decisive Battle of ‘Ayn-Dārah, which resulted in the total defeat of the Yemenite party. Following this, many Yemenite Druze emigrated to the Hauran region, establishing the foundation of Druze power in that area.

The Civil War of 1860

The Druze and their Christian Maronite A member of an Eastern Catholic church in Lebanon. neighbors had previously lived together in peace as separate religious communities. However, they soon entered a period of intense social unrest...