The
Druze faith is an
Abrahamic monotheistic religion that is a
gnostic offshoot and
Neoplatonist sect of
Isma'ilism, a branch of
Shia Islam. The Druze evolved from Islam and now are an independent religion. The Druze faith is often classified as a branch of
Isma'ili. Even though the faith originally developed out of
Ismaili Islam, most Druze do not identify as
Muslims. The Druze follow a
batini or esoteric interpretation of the
Five Pillars of Islam: thus, they do not accept fasting during the month of Ramadan, making a
pilgrimage to
Mecca, or accepting
Muhammad as a prophet of God. The Druze have frequently experienced persecution by different Muslim regimes such as the
Shia Fatimid Caliphate,
Sunni Ayyubid Sultanate,
Mamluk Sultanate,
Ottoman Empire, and
Egypt Eyalet. The persecution of the Druze included
massacres, demolishing Druze prayer houses and holy places and
forced conversion to
Islam. According to the Druze narrative, those were no ordinary killings, but attempts to eradicate the whole community. Since they do not fast during the month of
Ramadan or make
pilgrimages to Mecca, they are not regarded by Muslims as Islamic. The Druze follow a lifestyle of isolation where no conversion is allowed, neither out of nor 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
Tanukhids inaugurated the Druze community in Syria when most of them accepted and adopted the new message that was being preached in the 11th century, due to their leadership's close ties with
Fatimid caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah. The Druze community in Syria played an important role in the formation of the modern state of Syria, and even though they are a minority they play an important role in the Syrian political scene. , 1925 In Syria, most Druze live in the
Jabal al-Druze, a rugged and mountainous region in the southwest of the country, which is more than 90 percent Druze inhabited; some 120 villages are exclusively so. The
Yaman were defeated by the
Qays at the
Battle of Ain Dara in Lebanon, which led to the Druze settling in the area. Other notable communities live in the
Harim Mountains, the Damascus suburb of
Jaramana, and on the southeast slopes of
Mount Hermon. A large Syrian Druze community historically lived in the
Golan Heights, but following wars with Israel in
1967 and
1973, many of these Druze fled to other parts of Syria; most of those who remained live in a handful of villages in the disputed zone, while only a few live in the narrow remnant of
Quneitra Governorate that is still under effective Syrian control. The Druze always played a far more important role in Syrian politics than its comparatively small population would suggest. With a community of little more than 100,000 in 1949 or roughly three percent of the Syrian population, the Druze of Syria's southwestern mountains constituted a potent force in Syrian politics and played a leading role in the nationalist struggle against the French. Under the military leadership of
Sultan al-Atrash, the Druze provided much of the military force behind the
Great Syrian Revolt of 1925–27. In 1945, Amir Hasan al-Atrash, the paramount political leader of the
Jabal Druze State, led the Druze military units in a successful revolt against the French, making the Jebel al-Druze the first and only region in Syria to liberate itself from French rule without British assistance. At independence, the Druze made confident by their successes, expected that Damascus would reward them for their many sacrifices on the battlefield. They demanded to keep their autonomous administration and many political privileges accorded them by the French and sought generous economic assistance from the newly independent government. the Druze community was subjected to a heavy attack by the Syrian government. Shishakli believed that among his many opponents in Syria, the Druzes were the most potentially dangerous, and he was determined to crush them. He frequently proclaimed: "My enemies are like a serpent: the head is the Jebel al-Druze, the stomach
Homs, and the tail Aleppo. If I crush the head the serpent will die." Shishakli dispatched 10,000 regular troops to occupy the Jebel al-Druze. Several towns were bombarded with heavy weapons, killing scores of civilians and destroying many houses. According to Druze accounts, Shishakli encouraged neighboring
Bedouin tribes to plunder the defenseless population and allowed his own troops to run amok. After the Shishakli's military campaign, the Druze community lost a lot of its political influence, but many Druze military officers played an important role when it came to the
Ba'ath government previously ruling Syria.
Syrian civil war The
Qalb Loze massacre was a reported massacre of 20–24 Syrian
Druze on 10 June 2015 in the village of Qalb Loze in Syria's northwestern Idlib Governorate. On 25 July, 2018, a group of
Islamic State-affiliated attackers entered the Druze city of
as-Suwayda and initiated a series of gunfights and suicide bombings on its streets killing at least 258 people, the vast majority of them civilians.
Fall of the Assad regime report from January 2025 about Druze sentiments right after the fall of Assad Following the
fall of the Assad regime, news were shared on social media to claim that the Druze population living in
Hader, Quneitra Governorate of wishing to be under Israeli rule. This information, based on a non-verified video showing one individual expressing his opinion in a public gathering, has been repeated by mainstream media. The local leaders recorded a collective announcement on December 13, 2024, to deny these allegations and to denounce the Israeli occupation of their village. Syrian Druze leader Sheikh
Hikmat al-Hijri denounced the
Israeli invasion of Syria, stressing the need to maintain support for Syria's "social and territorial unity". In December 2024, the Druze formed the
Suwayda Military Council (SMC) in response to growing security concerns after the fall of the Assad regime. On 14 March, 2025, a hundred Druze sheikhs arrived from Syria to
Israel for a historic visit to a Druze prophet's shrine. In late March, Syrian Druze cleric
Youssef Jarbou stated that the Druze community shares a "harmonic" relationship with the Kurdish-led
Rojava. This includes a "significant alignment" of "demands and efforts", and that the Druze and Kurdish communities have a "shared political vision, particularly regarding Syria’s future". He also believed that the
2025 Interim Constitution drafted by the
Syrian caretaker government "does not rise up to the aspirations of the Syrian people", and that he sees the newly-established
transitional government as "monopolized by one group" and creates fears for a "non-participatory state".
Conflict with the Syrian transitional government Between late April and early May 2025, there were
violent clashes between local Druze communities and Syrian government forces in parts of southern Syria. On 11 July 2025, new
a series of clashes between Bedouin and Druze of armed groups began in the Suwayda governate. According to the UK-based
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, more than 1,120 Druze were killed in the clash, 194 of whom were "executed" by "defence and interior ministry personnel." That same non-governmental monitor reported that 354 government security personnel and 21 Sunni Bedouin were killed in the conflict, with three executed by Druze fighters, and an additional 15 government troops killed by Israeli airstrikes. According to the
United Nations migration agency, 128,000 people were displace by the conflict. Videos shared on
social media, as well as reports to and documented by the
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and
BBC News, showed violence committed against civilian Druze population from the government, as well as from Bedouin forces, including unarmed civilians being shot and houses being torched. Following these, the Syrian Armed Forces and the General Security Service were dispatched to the region. The Israeli Airforce was also reported in the area during the conflict. On July 15 and 16 agreements on the integration of the Suwayda governate into the Syrian state were announced. Following further clashes between Syrian Government forces and Druze, as well as Israeli Airstrikes in Damascus, a withdrawal of the Syrian Armed Forces from the region was announced. On 23 August 2025, following the conflict with the Syrian transitional government, multiple Druze factions under
Hikmat al-Hijri formed the
National Guard of Suwayda to coordinate military and security efforts in the governorate. ==Demographics==