According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, at the end of 2005, the population of the district stood at 858, 000, of which 71. 27 % are Jewish, 18. 81 % are Arab Muslims, 1. 78 % are Arab Christians, 2. 52 % are Druze, and 4. 9 % are " not classified by religion ", and grew at an average annual rate of 0. 8 %.

Druze pilgrimage to Hittin

This arrangement was to provide the cornerstone for the privileged status which ultimately came to be enjoyed by the whole of Mount Lebanon in Ottoman Syria, Druze and Christian areas alike.

Ad-Darazi army was destroyed and he was captured, the unity movement was called at that time the movement that destroyed the army of the Darazi, Ad-Darazi was converted to be one of the early preachers of the Unity faith Or the Druze Faith, The movement enlisted a large number of adherents.

The root of discrimination on the basis of army service lies in the fact that at age 17, non Arab citizens ( including Druze ) are called up to be examined for eligibility to compulsory military service.

Those rumours, later proven to be baseless, were encouraged by the Christian regents that followed the Maans to try to appease the powerful Druze clans.

Tradition holds the Jumblatt family to be the leaders of the Kaysi Arabs who fought a bitter war with the Yemeni Druze in the Battle of Ain Darra of 1711.

The " Arslan dynasty " is still one of the most powerful Lebanese political families, and is now considered to be a hereditary Druze leadership dynasty.

Creeds which were seen as deviant forms of the Caliphal dynasty's Sunni Islam – such as Shi ' as, Alawis, Alevis and Yezidis – had no official status and were considered to be part of the Muslim millet ; only the syncretic Druze of the Djebel Druze and Mount Lebanon enjoyed feudal − type autonomy.

* the Chief of the General Staff always to be Druze

However, he is known to have an affinity for and is popular amongst the Druze population ( the only Arab population to be fully drafted into the IDF ), and has attracted a number of Druze voters, including some in the Golan Heights who voted for the party in protest.

Following the defeat of the Mamelukes by the Ottoman Empire, and to reward their new Druze ally who fought with them in the battle of Marj Dabek ( 1516 ), the Ottomans rewarded Prince Fakher el Din al Maani I, with the Principality of Lebanon, where he established a Druze-Maronite alliance lasting for hundreds of years ; this prosperous principality would be the base of the modern Lebanese Republic.

As Amal-PSP relations severely deteriorated, the Palestinian alliance with the Druze began to be reestablished.

In 2011, 7, 000 Christian, Druze and Muslims held a solidarity march in support of Christians in Iraq and Egypt who are suffering from religious persecution.

The name Druze is derived from the name of Anushtakīn ad-Darazī ( from Persian, darzi, " seamster ") who was an early preacher.

The Druze faith began as a movement in Ismailism, that was mainly influenced by Greek philosophy and gnosticism and opposed certain religious and philosophical ideologies that were present during that epoch.

Al-Hakim became a central figure in the Druze faith even though his own religious position was disputed among scholars.

This was the result of a power struggle inside of the Fatimid empire in which the Druze were viewed with suspicion because of their refusal to recognize the new Caliph, Ali az-Zahir, as their Imam.

The largest massacre was at Antioch, where 5, 000 Druze religious leaders were killed, followed by that of Aleppo.

" In 1038, two years after the death of al-Zahir, the Druze movement was able to resume because the new leadership that replaced him had friendly political ties with at least one prominent Druze leader.

It was during the period of Crusader rule in Syria ( 1099 – 1291 ) that the Druze first emerged into the full light of history in the Gharb region of the Chouf Mountains.

In the early period of the Crusader era, the Druze feudal power was in the hands of two families, the Tanukhs and the Arslans.

Consequently, the 16th and 17th centuries were to witness a succession of armed Druze rebellions against the Ottomans, countered by repeated Ottoman punitive expeditions against the Chouf, in which the Druze population of the area was severely depleted and many villages destroyed.

Though governor of the Druze Mountain, Bashir was a crypto-Christian, and it was he whose aid Napoleon solicited in 1799 during his campaign against Syria.

The Maronite-Druze conflict in 1840 – 60 was an outgrowth of the Maronite Christian independence movement, directed against the Druze, Druze feudalism, and the Ottoman-Turks.

The Hauran rebellion was a violent Druze uprising against Ottoman authority in the Syrian province, which erupted in 1909.

The rebellion was led by al-Atrash family in an aim to gain independence, but ended in brutal suppression of the Druze, significant depopulation of the Hauran region and execution of the Druze leaders in 1910.

It was the birthplace of monotheism, first of Judaism and later of Christianity and contains sites sacred to several Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Druze and Bahai.

In 1838 there was another revolt by the Druze and in 1840 the Egyptians withdrew, returning the area to Ottoman governorship.

By 1890, Palestine was populated mainly by Muslim ( settled and nomad Bedouins ) and Christian Arabs, as well as Jews, Greeks, Druze and other minorities.

The French expanded the borders of Mount Lebanon, which was mostly populated by Maronites and Druze, to include more Muslims.

It was an autonomous Druze region of the Ottoman empire.

He would reform taxes and attempt to break the feudal system, in order to undercut rivals, the most important of which was also named Bashir: Bashir Jumblatt, whose wealth and feudal backers equaled or exceeded Bashir II – and who had increasing support in the Druze community.

In 1017, Hamza officially revealed the Druze faith and began to preach the Unitarian doctrine.

It is ideologically secular and officially non-sectarian, but in practice is led and supported mostly by followers of the Druze faith.

Jabal al-Druze (, Mountain of the Druze ), officially Jabal al-Arab ( Arabic: جبل العرب, Mountain of the Arabs ) is an elevated volcanic region in southern Syria, in the As-Suwayda Governorate.

In July 1860, with European intervention threatening, the Turkish government tried to quiet the strife, but Napoleon III of France sent 7, 000 troops to Beirut and helped impose a partition: The Druze control of the territory was recognized as the fact on the ground, and the Maronites were forced into an enclave, arrangements ratified by the Concert of Europe in 1861.

Another site recognized by Druze as the tomb of Shoaib, Nabi Shu ' ayb, is located in Hittin in the Lower Galilee.

The Druze (, plural دروز, durūz, druzim ) are a monotheistic religious community, found primarily in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan, which emerged during the 11th century from Ismailism school of Shia Islam.

Although the Druze religious books describe ad-Darazi as the " insolent one " and as the " Calf " who is narrow minded and hasty, the name " Druze " is still used for identification and for historical reasons.

In the early stages of the movement, the word " Druze " is rarely mentioned by historians, and in Druze religious texts only the word Muwaḥḥidūn (" Unitarian ") appears.

In Lebanon, Syria, and Israel, the Druze have official recognition as a separate religious community with its own religious court system.

Another destabilizing factor was France's support for the Maronite Christians against the Druze which in turn led the British to back the Druze, exacerbating religious and economic tensions between the two communities.

Including these is the Maronite Patriarch Mar Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir – the most eminent religious figure for Maronites – and the Druze leader Walid Jumblatt.

Category: Druze religious leaders

It is notably used by Druze for their religious men, but also by Arab Christians for elder men of stature.

The French had favored religious minorities, such as Druze and Alawi, and attempted to isolate them from mainstream nationalist culture.

* Druze, a Middle Eastern religious community

In 2001, ethnic and religious makeup of the city was 79. 7 % Jewish and other non-Arabs, and 20. 0 % Arab ( 8. 9 % Muslim, 9. 9 % Christian, and 1. 0 % Druze ).

According to CBS, in 2009 the religious and ethnic makeup of the city was mostly Israeli Arabs ( consisting of 59. 5 % Muslim, 26. 3 % Christian, and 14. 3 % Druze ).

Tension grew between the Caliph and his viziers ( called wasītas ), and near the end of his reign the Druze movement, a religious sect centered around al-Ḥākim, began to form.

The name ( majalis al-hikma ) is still adopted by the Druze as the name of the building in which their religious assembly and worship is carried, it ’ s often abbreviated as Majlis ( session ).

Also Al-Hakim is a central figure in the history of the Druze religious sect.

Category: Druze religious leaders