The Origins of the Druze People and Religion

by Philip K. Hitti

The Druze, who can be traced back to eleventh-century Levant, have long intrigued scholars of the Middle East. Their obscure origins and blending of beliefs from Ismaili Shi‘ism, animism, Greek philosophy, Jewish and Christian mysticism, Iranian Gnosticism and even Buddhism, have set them apart from their neighbours.

Philip K. Hitti reveals the remarkable Druze pantheon of semi-deities and investigates their dogmas and rituals, noting the stratification between the few Uqqal (elect wise ones) and the numerous Jahil (ignorant ones).

The book includes rarely-seen extracts from the sacred writings of the Druze and offers a unique insight into this fascinating religious minority.

Philip Khuri Hitti (1886–1978) was born in Lebanon and taught at Princeton University from 1926 to 1954. He was renowned for his contributions to Arab studies in the West. He is the author of numerous books, including History of the Arabs, Lebanon in History and Islam and the West.

Genres: Religion, History, Middle East

128 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2007

About the author

Philip K. Hitti (1886-1978) was a Lebanese historian who was instrumental in establishing the field of Near Eastern Studies in the United States.

Category: Great Scholars and Teachers
Year At AUB: 1908
Education: AUB, BA 1908; Columbia University, PhD

Philip Hitti was born in the village of Shemlan in 1886. He graduated from the American University of Beirut with first honors in 1908, teaching there for several years as the University’s first Lebanese professor. He departed for the US, where he studied at Columbia, becoming the first Lebanese, and the first native-born Arab speaker, to receive a PhD in the US in 1915. In 1926 he moved to Princeton, founding the first program of Middle Eastern Studies in the US, which he chaired until his retirement in 1954. Under Hitti’s leadership Princeton became the premier center for Islamic studies in the West and was one of the pioneers of the concept of area studies. He was also a prolific writer, and his seminal book, History of the Arabs, published in 1937, is in its 11th edition. He was a member of the Board of Trustees of AUB, the recipient of innumerable awards from the governments of the Arab countries, and received numerous heads of State in his home including the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran and Lebanon.

Reviews

[Druze · Rating 1 out of 5]

The most inaccurate book I've ever read concerning the Druze. Filled with errors and poorly researched. If you want to learn about the Druze faith then read Dr. Sami Makarem's book The Druze Faith.

[Michael Nguyen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very short and brief overview of the Druze. Approximately a 2 hour read.

I think the section on the perceived race on the Druze was rather unnecessary and speculative. Obviously the methods used in the "anthropology" back then was outdated. The endonym of the Druze is "muhawidun" meaning monotheists. They believe in reincarnation, slightly different to Buddhist and Hindu reincarnation. They believe in Imam Ali and a neoplatonic system of emanations to which the Al Hakim of the Fatimid Caliph is God. They are an ethnoreligious group that exists in Israel, Lebanon, Syria, and possibly other places. They branched off from the Ismaili religion and became their own separate religion, a religion outside of the domains what would be considered of Orthodox Islam. The scriptures of the Druze are secret and the community is divided into the 'Uqqal and the Juhhal. 'Uqqal also known as Sheikhs who undergo a rigorous and secretive initiation ritual, and the Juhhal are the members of the religion who are not sheikhs.

To the high rank of enlightened 'Uqqal, no one can aspire whose character has not marked him out as one entirely trust- worthy and capable of extreme secrecy. Before admission, however, he must be subjected to a rigorous process of long trial and probation. Then follows the ceremonial rite of in- duction. This secret ceremony has been witnessed and described by only one or two outsiders throughout the whole history of the Druze religion.
This book is quite old by the way, 1928. I would recommend reading something more up to date about the Druze. I did read this out of curiosity to what the outsider perspective would be. Good enough for its time.

[Teri Uktena · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is very much a product of it's time. A Western academic look at a "foreign" religion and culture using very limited written records and no direct experience or evidence. The information is presented from a patronizing, negative, and colonial perspective which categorizes these people as a fossilized culture out of sync with modernity, as a cult, and a people who cannot be trusted to know their own origins.

Luckily, the Druze are alive and well in the world and continuing to play their part in the geopolitical struggles of the Middle East: https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/g...

[Aziz Abu Al-Huda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm ambivalent about this book. On the one hand, the author gives a useful historical timeline of how the Durzi faith formed and developed, but it lacks any concrete information on the tenants of the faith and how they fit together. I finished the book having more questions than answers. To quote another reviewer, the book is very much a dated Western academic style review of the faith which seems simplified and sanitised. I can somewhat understand that, as a writer, you would have to set strict parametres for what you are going to write about when there is limited information on the faith, but in my opinion the book unfortunately only scratches the surface and leaves much unanswered.

[Mary Taylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

In 1928, Hitti wrote an opinion piece loosely supported by vague sources. This text has a lot of bold claims considering the amount of cited sources. It is a product of its time, all information is based on outside perspectives looking in without any true internal information.

[Samer Kallas · Rating 4 out of 5]

an interesting book !
by a Master Historian; Philip Hitti !