Who are the Druze and why are they being attacked in Syria?

By MG Paul E Vallely (ret)

Israeli border police watch as Israeli Druze cross the border to check on the condition of their family members in Syria. Image source: Reuters. Image caption: Israeli border police watch as Israeli Druze cross the border to check on the condition of their family members in Syria.

In Syria, on the morning of Wednesday, July 16, clashes between Syrian government forces and local Druze fighters resumed in the Druze city of Sweida in southern Syria, just hours after a ceasefire was announced. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says 248 people have been killed since Sunday in clashes between “Druze factions and Bedouin gunmen.”

The monitor says the dead include 21 civilians killed in arbitrary executions by government forces. The new Syrian government, formed on March 29, 2025, is struggling to disarm factional militias and gain the trust of Syria’s diverse ethnic and religious communities. Many minority communities – including the Druze – are suspicious of the government of interim President Ahmed Sharia, despite pledges to protect them. Until now, the southern province of Sweida has been largely controlled by Druze militant militias, who have resisted calls to join the security forces. The Druze are present in three countries: Lebanon, Israel, the occupied Golan, and Syria. In recent days, Israel announced that it had bombed Syrian government forces around Sweida, forces it claims were sent to the province to prevent sectarian clashes. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he ordered the attack on troops and weapons in the area because the government “intended to use [them] against the Druze.” Syria has condemned Israel’s intervention.

The clashes were sparked in late April by the release of an audio recording purportedly showing a Druze religious leader insulting the Prophet Muhammad. Although the leader denied that the audio was his and the Syrian Interior Ministry later confirmed that the recording was fake, the damage had been done, sparking sectarian violence in communities across the country. Since then, the Syrian government has announced that its security forces have carried out various operations to restore security and stability. Meanwhile, the Israeli military said it had targeted several government tanks to prevent them from advancing towards the city of Sweida. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the attacks were a “clear warning to the Syrian regime.”

Druze villagers in the occupied Golan Heights march on Syrian Independence Day – April 17, 2018Image source, Getty Images. Image caption, Druze villagers in the occupied Golan Heights march on Syrian Independence Day – April 17, 2018

Who are the Druze?

The Druze call themselves “Al-Muwahhidun” or monotheists, and are also known as “Bani Ma’ruf.” The name Druze is said to be derived from “Nashtkin Druze” who broke away from the Fatimid caliphs of Egypt and fled to Lebanon to spread their call there. The Druze believe that God is the one and only eternal ruler of the universe. He is pure and beyond the description of His servants, because, they believe, the human mind is incapable of comprehending the greatness of God’s attributes. Some sources say that this sect split from the Ismaili sect during the Fatimid Caliphate in the 10th century AD, but some researchers consider it an independent faith in its own right. The Druze are considered one of the oldest communities in the Middle East.

No one can convert to this religion, and those who leave their religion can never return. Marriage to a non-Druze is prohibited. They have sacred texts, but access to them is limited, and only a small number of Druze are allowed to participate in religious ceremonies. They do not share the details of their religious beliefs or practices. For this reason, they are often seen as a secretive community. Culturally, linguistically, and ethnically, they are considered Arab. However, most Druze consider themselves Druze first and Arab second.

The Druze have a class of religious men known as “Aqal” and their leader is called Sheikh Aqal. They prefer to marry members of their own tribe, and their marriages are based on the consent and agreement of the parties, with the rights of both parties being preserved and equality between them. Polygamy is prohibited in this tribe, and the basis of marriage is transparency and openness, so the parties must state their physical, mental, and spiritual health. The right to divorce is not only in the hands of men, but women can also separate from their husbands.

Where do they live? There are about 1.5 million Druze people worldwide, mainly scattered in four countries: Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan.

Syria

The Druze have been living in Syria for about a thousand years. They have played an important and fundamental role in the region at various times in history. They fought the Crusaders in the Battle of Hattin in 1187 and were able to gain the trust of the Ayyubids and Zengids, which strengthened their presence and power in the region and gave them many responsibilities. The Druze later fought alongside the Mamluk naval forces against the Tatars and Mongols at the Battle of Ain Jalut. They stood alongside the Ottomans against Muhammad Ali’s invasion of Syria and inflicted heavy losses on the Egyptians, led by Sheikh Yahya al-Hamdan, who was ruling the mountain at the time, in Jabal al-Arab, south of Damascus.

The Druze then rebelled against the Ottoman Empire, which had attempted to take control of the Jabal al-Arab several times. In 1911, the Ottoman Empire, after gaining full control of the region, executed the leaders of the Jabal al-Arab, most notably Zuqan al-Atrash and Yahya Amer. The Druze then declared their allegiance to Sharif Hussein and hundreds of them joined the Arab army, and their leader, Sultan Pasha al-Atrash, was at the forefront of raising the Arab flag on Mount Arab and later in Damascus.

In 1925, the Druze played an important role in the fight against the French occupation in Syria, as they rejected the formation of a Druze state and fanned the flames of the Great Syrian Revolution.

The Druze, led by Sultan Pasha al-Atrash, led the Great Syrian Revolution against the French, who had occupied Syria in 1921. Currently, their population in Syria is about 700,000, living mainly in the cities of Sweida, Salkhad, Shahba, villages in the Jabal al-Arab, Jaramana near Damascus, and Majdal Shams in the occupied Syrian territories in the Golan Heights. In addition to Sultan Pasha al-Atrash, other famous figures among Syrian Druze include Farid al-Atrash, an artist and his singer sister, Asmahan, as well as Fahd Bilan, a singer and actor.

Lebanon

There have been no official statistics on the number of Druze living in Lebanon since 1932, but unofficial sources estimate their number at between 350,000 and 400,000. Lebanese Druze live in 136 villages in Hasbiya, Rashiya, Chouf, Alia, Marjayoun and Beirut. They constitute the majority of the population in the cities of Alia, Baaqlin, Hasbiya and Rashiya. Druze politicians play a prominent role in the Lebanese political scene and have been present in the Lebanese political space in recent decades with figures such as Kamal Jumblatt and his son Walid Jumblatt, as well as Majid Arsalan. The administration of the affairs of the Lebanese Druze community is the responsibility of the “Sheikha al-Aql”, which is a very old institution, but it was not recognized as an official institution until 1962.

Israel

The number of Druze in Palestine was not small, and during the Ottoman period they were persecuted for joining the “Greater Lebanon” government, which Emir Fakhr al-Din al-Ma’ani attempted to establish. With the establishment of the State of Israel, some of them stayed and accepted life under its shadow, but those who did not accept remaining under Israeli control returned to Lebanon and Syria. Some sources say that the Druze reached an agreement with Israel in 1948, according to which they received privileges in exchange for accepting compulsory service in the Israeli army. As an independent tribe, the Druze have their own special courts to handle their internal issues and disputes, and their culture and language are Arabic. According to the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics, the Druze population in Israel is approximately 143,000, equivalent to one and a sixteenth percent of the total population of Israel.

18,000 of them live in the Golan Heights, which Israel occupied in 1967. Most Druze live in the cities of Galilee and Mount Carmel and are in constant contact with their clan members in Syria and Lebanon.

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