By Lubna Zeidan
In my 23 years in Austin working at Interfaith Action of Central Texas (iACT) I met numerous wonderful people, who are genuinely committed to interfaith connections, and exhibit curiosity and openness toward other beliefs, especially less known faith groups.
Our affable first-world curiosity frequently does not extend to learning about the living conditions of interesting minority faith groups. In fact, in the areas of the world where minorities live, their surrounding majority usually consider their very existence a travesty.
Many may not be aware of recent attacks on the Druze community in southern Syria. It came to the world’s attention when Israel bombed in Syria stating that they are protecting their Druze allies. This in itself brought the Syrian Druze dangerous, unwanted attention.
The Druze are a minority esoteric religious group-comprised of about one million people mostly living in Syria, Lebanon and Israel. They historically broke away from the Shiite Muslim sect in the 10th century and started their own faith based on Greek and Roman philosophy, eastern religions, as well as the regional Islam. They are monotheistic, but unlike other Abrahamic faiths, believe in reincarnation.
This is based on the premise that the world is a learning experience – not a test- and you cannot possibly learn enough about yourself, God and the world through the course of one short lifetime.
The Druze mostly keep to their own communities. There are no religious rituals, no requirements of prayer or fasting, no temples, no pressure to learn anything about the faith. The premise is that rituals are unnecessary. Once you are born a Druze you are ready to recognize that God is within you and about you, and you need no guidance to reach him or know him.
I was born a Druze, since my parents were also born into the faith. You cannot convert to the Druze faith, nor can a Druze really convert to another religion. You are Druze till you die-in this lifetime- and acquiring any other beliefs makes no difference. You are Druze because of who you are, not what you believe.
The Druze have survived this long in the middle of a highly sectarian region by staying in their own areas, successfully intimidating any attackers, and mainly not making waves. As a group, they don’t really care to participate in the regional politics of their country of residence- the saying goes “whoever marries my mother is my stepfather.” So, if the motherland is ruled by Muslims, Jews, or seculars, the Druze don’t see that as any of their concern. Their allegiance is to their land and their community -so when Israel was formed and other Palestinians took refuge in neighboring countries, the Druze stayed put.
Through history when the Druze were provoked, they always responded with ultimate valor and severity with the aim of teaching the perpetrators not to mess with them again.
The problem now is that the more numerous Bedouin tribes in Syria decided to provoke by accosting a Druze passerby. Of course, in long-standing middle eastern tradition, it’s an eye for an eye. So, retaliations were consequently committed on both sides.
Incidents like this happen every few years and are usually resolved. The difference now is that the Bedouins have called on regional allies and the rhetoric has changed. The conflict is now described as a larger regional faith-based clash and there was a call to arms resulting in over 1000 Druze losing their lives and thousands more displaced from their villages.
The more worrisome issue is that the Syrian government has not been neutral, entering the area with the pretext of stopping the violence but instead executing over 100 Druze civilians. It also allowed its ISIS- adjacent allies to enter the fray- military trained mercenaries who had already massacred a large number of Alawite civilians in the north western regions and are always ready to battle “infidels”.
Syria has been a tragic battleground for too many years and the fact that it has a new president allowed the world to sigh in relief, pat the new guy on the back and go back to other business. But we cannot divert our gaze – we need to watch and make sure innocent civilians are not harmed. My hope is that this page will be turned soon, and peace can finally prevail in Syria. It’s time.
Lubna Zeidan, Director of Employee Engagement and Success at Interfaith Action of Central Texas (iACT), is a teacher and refugee advocate who grew up in a Druze village in Mt. Lebanon.