during the 1870s in
Chouf,
Lebanon and
Druze Khalwa in
Shuf Mountains. The Druze faith does not follow the
Five Pillars of Islam, such as fasting during the month of
Ramadan, and making a pilgrimage to
Mecca, therefore they are not considered and do not consider themselves to be Muslims. The Druze faith incorporates elements of both
Islam and
Christianity. The Druze beliefs incorporate elements of
Ismailism,
Gnosticism,
Neoplatonism and other philosophies. The Druze call themselves Ahl al-Tawhid "People of
Unitarianism or
Monotheism" or "
al-Muwaḥḥidūn.""The Druze follow a lifestyle of isolation where no conversion is allowed, neither out of, or 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. 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." The
relationship between the Druze and Christians in Lebanon has been characterized by
harmony and
coexistence, Similarly, the relationship between the
Druze and
Muslims in Lebanon was initially shaped by coexistence and a social hierarchy that crossed religious lines. However, according to historian Ussama Makdisi, religious differentiation and sectarian tensions intensified particularly during the nineteenth century, following the
Egyptian invasion, the decline of the
Shihab emirate,
Ottoman Tanzimat reforms, and increased European political intervention. The Druze faith is often classified as a branch of 10th-century
Isma'ilism. Even though the faith originally developed out of
Isma'ilism, most Druze do not identify as
Muslims. As such, the Druze have frequently experienced persecution by different Islamic regimes such as the
Shia Fatimid Caliphate,
Sunni Ottoman Empire, and
Egypt Eyalet. The persecution of the Druze included
massacres, demolishing Druze prayer houses and holy places and
forced conversion to
Islam. Those were no ordinary killings, they were meant to eradicate the whole community according to the Druze narrative. The Druze community in Lebanon played an important role in the formation of the modern state, and although they are a minority, they play an important role in the Lebanese political scene. Before and during the
Lebanese Civil War (1975–90), the Druze were predominantly in favor of
Pan-Arabism and the Palestinian cause as represented by the
PLO. Most of the community supported the
Progressive Socialist Party formed by their leader
Kamal Jumblatt, and they fought alongside other leftist and Palestinian parties against the
Lebanese Front that was mainly constituted of Christians. After the assassination of Kamal Jumblatt on 16 March 1977, his son
Walid Jumblatt took the leadership of the party. He played an important role in preserving his father's legacy after winning the
Mountain War and sustained the existence of the Druze community during the sectarian bloodshed that lasted until 1990. In August 2001,
Maronite Catholic Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir toured the predominantly Druze Chouf region of Mount Lebanon and visited
Mukhtara, the ancestral stronghold of Druze leader Walid Jumblatt. The tumultuous reception that Sfeir received not only signified a historic reconciliation between Maronites and Druze, who fought a bloody war in 1983–84, but underscored the fact that the banner of Lebanese sovereignty had broad multi-confessional appeal. It was a cornerstone for the
Cedar Revolution in 2005. Jumblatt's post-2005 position diverged sharply from the tradition of his family. He accused Damascus of being behind the 1977 assassination of his father, Kamal Jumblatt, expressing for the first time what many knew he privately suspected. The BBC describes Jumblatt as "the smartest leader of Lebanon's most powerful Druze clan and heir to a leftist political dynasty". The second largest political party supported by Druze is the
Lebanese Democratic Party, led by
Prince Talal Arslan, the son of Lebanese independence hero
Emir Majid Arslan. On May 10, 2008,
Hezbollah forces clashed with Druze militias, resulting in casualties on both sides. The clashes started in Aytat, near Kayfoun, and soon expanded to cover many spots in Mount Lebanon, including Baysur, Shuweifat and Aley. Most of the fighting was concentrated on Hill 888. After negotiations a ceasefire was called in from outside the country before Hezbollah could call in artillery support. Releases from Hezbollah leaders in 2016 stated that bombing the mountain with close-range artillery from the South and longer-ranged artillery from Syria were both an option and greatly considered. A number of the
Druze embraced Christianity, such as some of
Shihab dynasty members, as well as the Abi-Lamma clan, During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Protestant missionaries established schools and churches in Druze strongholds, with some Druze converting to
Protestant Christianity; yet they did not succeed in converting the
Druze to
Christianity en masse. On the other hand, many Druze immigrants to the
United States have converted to
Protestantism, becoming communicants of the
Presbyterian or
Methodist churches. This allowed them to keep low profiles in small towns. ==Demographics==