Druze are members of an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group originating in Western Asia.
They practice Druzism, an Abrahamic monotheistic
syncretic religion based on the teachings of Hamza ibn Ali ibn Ahmad and the
sixth Fatimid caliph, al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, and Ancient Greek philosophers
such as Plato, Aristotle, Pythagoras, and Zeno of Citium. Adherents of the
Druze religion are called The People of Monotheism (Al-Muwaḥḥidūn).
The Epistles of Wisdom is the foundational and central
text of the Druze faith.
The Druze faith incorporates elements of Isma'ilism,
Gnosticism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Neoplatonism,
Pythagoreanism, and other philosophies and beliefs, creating a distinct and
secretive theology based on an esoteric interpretation of scripture, which
emphasizes the role of the mind and truthfulness.
Druze believe in theophany and reincarnation. Druze believe that at the end of the cycle of rebirth, which is achieved through successive reincarnations, the soul is united with the Cosmic Mind (al-ʻaql al-kullī).
Even though the faith originally developed out of Isma'ilism, Druze do not identify as Muslims. The Druze faith is one of the major religious groups in the Levant, with between 800,000 and a million adherents.
They are found primarily in Lebanon, Syria, and Israel, with small communities in Jordan. They make up 5.5% of the population of Lebanon, 3% of Syria and 1.6% of Israel. The oldest and most densely-populated Druze communities exist in Mount Lebanon and in the south of Syria around Jabal al-Druze (literally the "Mountain of the Druze").
The Druze community played a critically important role in shaping the history of the Levant, where it continues to play a significant political role.
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