The Druze community was formed during the 1st half of the 5th century of the Hijra, 11th A.D., at Wādī al-Taym at the foot of Mt. Hermon in Anti-Lebanon, in response to a Daʿwa (Divine Call), propagated from Cairo in the reign of the 6th Fāṭimid Caliph al-Ḥākim Bi-Amr Allāh (386-411AH. / 996-1021A.D.). This call arose as an offshoot of the esoteric Ismāʿīlī-Shiʿī approach to Islam, the creed of the Fāṭimid Caliphate of Egypt, in the year 408/1017, and aimed for universal acceptance. However, due to several reasons the Daʿwa was closed in 435/1043. Since then, the Druze call their faith madhhab al-tawḥīd (the Unitarians faith), and themselves Muwaḥḥidūn (Uniterians), in reference to their tawḥīd tenet. Ironically, the followers of this faith are popularly known as "al-Durūz", the term whose most commonly transliteration is "Druze", and currently spread over the regions of "Natural Syria", in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Palestine Since the closing of the Daʿwa, the Druze have formed an enclosed, self-contained community, no missionary activities, no open religious rituals, conversions into their faith is an impossibility, religious teaching is kept secret, and adjustment to their various surroundings involves “taqqiya” (dissimulation). But of all these realities, the Druze have attracted the attentions of travelers and explorers for their robust qualities. And, at the present time, Druzism is still a living, interesting force; Its followers form, particularly in Lebanon, a vigorous and flourishing community, in spite of being a small religious minority in the countries in which they are found.

Temps présentiel : 5 heures

Charge de travail étudiant : 20 heures

Méthode(s) d'évaluation : Note de lecture

Référence :
1- Sami Makarem: 2- ---- التقية في الإسلام Al-Taqiyya fī-al-Islām (Dissimulation ʿAbbās Abū Ṣāleḥ and Sami Makarem, تاريخ الموحدين الدروز السياسي في المشرق العربي Tārīkh al-Muwaḥḥidīn al-Durūz al-Siyāsī fī al-Mashriq̣ al-ʿArabī, (The Plitical History of the Druze Muwaḥḥidīn in the Arab Orient), al-Majllis al-Durzi lil-Buḥūth wal-Inmā’, Beirut, 1980. 3- ͑Abdallah al-Najjār, مذهب الدروز والتوحيد Madhhab al-Durūz and al-Tawḥīd (The Doctrine of the Druze and Tawḥīd), Cairo, Dār al-Ma ͑ ārif, 1965. 4- Ṣādiq̣ al-Asʿad, The Reign of al-Hākim bi Amr Allah (386-411 A.H./ 996-1021 A.D.): A Political Study, Arab Institute for Research and Publication, Beirut, 1974. 5- Bernard Lewis, The Origions of Ismaiilism, A Study of the Historical Background of the Fatimid Caliphate, Cambridge, Heffer, 1940. 6- Bernadette Schenk, art. “Druze Identity in the Middle East: Tendencies and Developments in Modern Druze Communities since the 1960’s”, in: Kamal Salibi, The Druze, Realities and Perceptions, The Druze Heritage Foundation, London, 2006, (p.p. 79-93). 7- De Sacy Silvestre, Exposé de la religion des Druzes, 2 vols., Paris, L’Imprimerie Royale, 1838. 8- Charles Henry Churchill, The Druze and the Maronite under the Turkish Rule from 1840 to 1860, Reading, UK, Gernet publishing, 1994. 9- M.G.S. Hodgson, art. “Durūz (Druzes)”, Encyclopedia of Islam, 2nd edition (EI2), vol. II, Leiden – E.J. Brill, 1983, (p.p. 631-634). 10- Fuad Khuri, Being a Druze, The Druze Heritage Foundation, London, 2004. 11- Gabriel Ben-Dor, The Druze in Israel, A Political Study: Political innovation and Integration in a Middle Eastern Minority, Jerusalem, Magnas Press, 1979. 12- Hitti, Philip, The Origin of the Druze People and Religion, NY, Colombia University Press, 1928. 13- Heinz Halm, The Fatimids and their Traditions of Learning, translated to Arabic by Saif Aldin Al-Kaseer, Al-Mada Publishing Company, 1st ed., Damascus and Cyprus, 1999. 14- Kamāl Ṣalībi: ---- The Modern History of Lebanon, London - New York, 1965. ---- Art. “The Buḥturids of the Gharb, Medieval Lords of Beirut and Southern Lebanon”, Arabica (8), 1961, (p.p.74-97). 15- Louis Périllier, Les Druzes, Paris, 1986. 16- Nadīm Hamza, التنوخيون، أجداد الموحدين الدروز، ودورهم في جبل لبنان Al-Tannūkhiyyūn, Ajdād al-Muwaḥḥidīn al-Durūz Wa-dawruhum fi jabal Lubnān (The Tanukhis, Forefathers of the Druze Muwaḥḥidūn, and Their Role in Mount Lebanon), Dār al-Nahār lil-Nashr, Beirut, 1984. 17- Naila Kaidbay, art. “Al-Sayyid Jamal al-Dīn al-Tanūkhi as a Druze Reformer” in: Kamal Salibi, The Druze, Realities and Perceptions, The Druze Heritage Foundation, London, 2006, (p.p. 43-59). 18- Nejla Abu-Izzeddin, The Druzes, A New Study of Their History, Faith and Society, Leiden-E.J. Brill, 1984. in Islam), Druze Heritage Foundation, 1st pub., London, 2004. ---- The Druze Faith, Delmar, New York, Caravan Books, 1974