The Druze: Realities & Perceptions

by Kamal Salibi (Editor), كمال الصليبي

An array of scholars from different parts of the world join in a multidisciplinary effort to study and integrate available knowledge and perceptions regarding the Druze as a religious community and historical society.

The scholars whose work appears in this volume will undoubtedly be helpful to those who seek to know more about the Druze-their faith, identity and society, and the role that they have played in the history of the Middle East.

In the planning of the first international academic conference of the Druze Heritage Foundation (DHF), held in collaboration with the Middle East Centre at St. Antony's College, Oxford, in July 2002, it was thought best not to concentrate on any single aspect of the Druze legacy, but to attempt to cover the widest possible range of themes, the better to bring out the Druze ethos as understood by the Druze themselves and as perceived by others. Thus, of the fifteen papers presented in this volume, which were the ones ultimately received in publishable form, the first four relate to religious issues. An explanation of the Druze faith by Sami Makarem (American University of Beirut) is followed by a critical assessment of the pioneering work of the French Orientalist, Sylvestre de Sacy, on the subject, contributed by Tony P. Nawfal (independent scholar). Next, David R. W. Bryer (former head of OXFAM) presents a survey of Druze religious texts, while Naila Kaidbey (American University of Beirut) describes the career of the fifteenth-century Druze reformer, al-Sayyid Jamal al-Din al-Tanukhi, commonly regarded as the founder of what one may call normative Druzism.

The next three papers treat social themes: a paper on the structure of Druze society by the late socio-cultural anthropologist; Fuad I. Khuri (author of the DHF publication, Being a Druze); another on tendencies and developments in modern Druze communities since the 1960s, with emphasis on the question of Druze identity, by Bernadette Schenk (Free University of Berlin); and a third on the status of Druze women between the ideal and the reality, by Intisar Azzam (American University of Beirut).

These are followed by four papers on historical themes: the Druze-British connection in the middle decades of the nineteenth century is assessed by Leila Fawaz (Tufts University); the Ottoman perspective on the subordination of the Hawran Druze in 1910 is presented jointly by Abdul-Rahim Abu-Husayn (American University of Beirut) and Engin D.

Akarli (Brown University); a picture of Jebel Druze and its people as depicted in the 1918 diary of the Arab nationalist,. Rustum Haydar, is sketched by Kamal Salibi (American University of Beirut); and an in-depth study of the relationships between the Jebel Druze chiefs and the grain merchants and Arab nationalists of Damascus at the onset of the mandatory period is ably provided by Michael Provence (University of California, San Diego). Of the remaining four papers in this volume, the first, by Leslie McLoughlin (independent scholar), is biographical, dealing with Fuad Hamza: a Druze who rose high in the service of King Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud and left descriptions of Saudi Arabia in his time that remain invaluable for scholars today. The second, by Eyad Abu Chakra (Al-Sharq al-Awsat Magazine), surveys the Druze role in the emergence and development of Arab nationalism. The third, by Amir Taheri (Middle East specialist based in London), surveys the diverse but little known communities with Druze-like affinities in different parts of the Muslim world. And the fourth and last, by Judith Palmer Harik (American University of Beirut), is a study of Druze civic organization during the Lebanese civil war.

In preparing this volume for press, it was decided to unify the transliteration of Arabic technical terms as they appear in different papers but, normally to leave personal and place names in the spellings given by the different authors. As a help to the reader, the index lists the variant spellings of these n

Genres: Religion

229 pages, Paperback

Published December 20, 2005

Reviews

[Raja · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book because it offered a one-stop-solution to the problem of better understanding the Druze community (of which I am a member). A few positives I can note:

1. format of book: It consists of a well-organized collection of articles written by several authors with diverse personal, professional and academic backgrounds.

2. At least a number of the authors have written books that expand on their articles (Michael Provence is one example, Fouad Khoury another and Sami Makarem a third - there are others).

3. Quality of authors: No unbalanced attention seekers or agenda pushers claiming the Druze are druids, freemasons, the lost tribe of Israel, demons, angels, the ideal specimen of humanity, peace-loving hobbit-like folk, war-mongering orcs, etc... This book rather contains some serious attempts to understand a sect.

I'm very happy a book of this calliber exists - for the sake of the curious Druze and non-Druze alike.

[Hebabruce · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is very well written. It includes chapters edited by several authors, mainly historians, and has its points through the enlightening facts about the faith in general. The best part was the depictions of influencing Druze leaders and the brief overviews about their political careers at the end of the book.
The passages would be very helpful to use in research papers about the subject provided because of their objectivity and informative flow. The introductory part might be confusing to the readers who wish to have a very detailed explanation of the origin of the Druze heritage and sometimes you need to know more or at least have a background about the Ismaili Muslim faith to get the concept properly.
Overall, it is recommended mostly for scholarly tasks.