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Druze
The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, and Religious syncretism, syncretic religion whose main tenets assert the unity of God, reincarnation, and the eternity of the soul. Although the Druze faith developed from Isma'ilism, Druze do not identify as Muslims. They maintain Arabic language and Arabic culture, culture as integral parts of their identity, with Arabic being their primary language. Most Druze religious practices are kept secret, and conversion to their religion is not permitted for outsiders. Interfaith marriages are rare and strongly discouraged. They differentiate between spiritual individuals, known as "uqqāl", who hold the faith's secrets, and secular ones, known as "juhhāl", who focus on worldly matters. Druze be ...
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Druze Flag
The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arab esoteric religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and syncretic religion whose main tenets assert the unity of God, reincarnation, and the eternity of the soul. Although the Druze faith developed from Isma'ilism, Druze do not identify as Muslims. They maintain Arabic language and culture as integral parts of their identity, with Arabic being their primary language. Most Druze religious practices are kept secret, and conversion to their religion is not permitted for outsiders. Interfaith marriages are rare and strongly discouraged. They differentiate between spiritual individuals, known as "uqqāl", who hold the faith's secrets, and secular ones, known as "juhhāl", who focus on worldly matters. Druze believe that, after completing the cycle of rebirth through successive reincarnations, the soul reunites with the Cosmic Mind (). The '' Epis ...
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Golan Heights
The Golan Heights, or simply the Golan, is a basaltic plateau at the southwest corner of Syria. It is bordered by the Yarmouk River in the south, the Sea of Galilee and Hula Valley in the west, the Anti-Lebanon mountains with Mount Hermon in the north and Ruqqad, Wadi Raqqad in the east. It hosts vital water sources that feed the Hasbani River and the Jordan River. Two thirds of the area was Israeli occupation of the Golan Heights, occupied by Israel following the 1967 Six-Day War and then Golan Heights Law, effectively annexed in 1981 – an action unrecognized by the international community, which continues to consider it Israeli occupation, Israeli-occupied Syrian territory. In 2024 Israeli invasion of Syria, 2024, Israel occupied the remaining one third of the area. The earliest evidence of human habitation on the Golan dates to the Upper Paleolithic period. It was home to the biblical Geshur, and was later incorporated into Aram-Damascus,Michael Avi-Yonah (1979). ''The Hol ...
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Epistles Of Wisdom
The ''Epistles of Wisdom'' () is a corpus of sacred texts and pastoral letters by teachers of the Druze faith native to the Levant, which has currently close to a million practitioners. The text revolves around the acknowledgement and worship of al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah as the last and definite incarnation of the One God, a belief which Druze define as 'Monotheism' (Arabic: Tawhid). The Druze canon The full Druze canon or Druze scripture includes the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Quran and philosophical works by Plato and those influenced by Socrates among works from other religions and philosophers. The Druze claim that an understanding of these is necessary, but that their ''al-ʻUqqāl'' (), ("the Knowledgeable Initiates") have access to writings of their own that supersede these. The Epistles of Wisdom are also referred to as the Kitab al-Hikma (Book of Wisdom) and al-Hikma al-Sharifa. Other ancient Druze writings include the ''Rasa'il al-Hind (Epistles of India)'' and ...
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Lebanon
Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west; Cyprus lies a short distance from the coastline. Lebanon has a population of more than five million and an area of . Beirut is the country's capital and largest city. Human habitation in Lebanon dates to 5000 BC. From 3200 to 539 BC, it was part of Phoenicia, a maritime civilization that spanned the Mediterranean Basin. In 64 BC, the region became part of the Roman Empire and the subsequent Byzantine Empire. After the seventh century, it Muslim conquest of the Levant, came under the rule of different Islamic caliphates, including the Rashidun Caliphate, Rashidun, Umayyad Caliphate, Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphate, Abbasid. The 11th century saw the establishment of Christian Crusader states, which fell ...
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Jabal Al-Druze
Jabal al-Druze (), is an elevated volcanic region in the Suwayda Governorate of southern Syria. Most of the inhabitants of this region are Druze, and there are also significant Christian communities. Safaitic inscriptions were first found in this area. The State of Jabal Druze was an autonomous area in the French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon from 1921 to 1936. In the past, the name Jabal al-Druze was used for a different area, located in Mount Lebanon. In Syria, most Druze reside in Suwayda Governorate, which encompasses almost all of Jabal al-Druze. This governorate is unique in Syria as it has a Druze majority. Additionally, it has integrated Christian communities that have long coexisted harmoniously with the Druze in these mountains. In the 1980s Druze made up 87.6% of the population, Christians (mostly Greek Orthodox) 11% and Sunni Muslims 2%. In 2010, the As-Suwayda governorate has a population of about 375,000 inhabitants, Druze made up 90%, Christians 7% a ...
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Hamza Ibn Ali Ibn Ahmad
Hamza ibn Ali ibn Ahmed (; –c. 1021) was an 11th-century Persian Ismai'li missionary and founding leader of the Druze. He was born in Zuzan in Greater Khorasan in Samanid-ruled Persia (modern Khaf, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran), and preached his heterodox strand of Isma'ilism in Cairo during the reign of the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah. According to Hamza, al-Hakim was God made manifest. Despite opposition from the established Isma'ili clergy, Hamza persisted, apparently being tolerated or even patronized by al-Hakim himself, and set up a parallel hierarchy of missionaries in Egypt and Syria. Following al-Hakim's disappearance—or, most likely, assassination—in February 1021, Hamza and his followers were persecuted by the new regime. Hamza himself announced his retirement in his final epistle to his followers, in which he also promised that al-Hakim would soon return and usher the end times. Hamza disappeared thereafter, although one contemporary source claims ...
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Shrine Of Shu'ayb
Nabi Shuʿayb ( also transliterated Neby Shoaib, Nabi Shuaib, or Nebi Shu'eib, meaning "the Prophet Shuaib". Hebrew: הנביא שועיב, or יתרו), known in English as Jethro's tomb, is a religious shrine west of Tiberias, in the Lower Galilee region of Israel, containing the purported tomb of prophet Shuayb, identified with the biblical Jethro, Moses' father-in-law. The complex hosting the tomb is the most important religious site in the Druze religion. A Druze religious festival takes place in the shrine every year in April. The Prophet Shuayb was an object of traditional veneration by the Druze through Israel. The shrine figured down to the Israeli-Arab war of 1948 as a place where Druze took vows (''nidhr'') and made ''ziyarat'' ("pilgrimages"). After the 1948 war, Israel placed the ''maqam'' (shrine) under exclusive Druze care. Mahmoud Yazbak, 'Holy shrines (''maqamat'') in modern Palestine/Israel and the politics of memory,' in Marshall J. Breger, Yitzhak Reiter, ...
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Abrahamic Religions
The term Abrahamic religions is used to group together monotheistic religions revering the Biblical figure Abraham, namely Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The religions share doctrinal, historical, and geographic overlap that contrasts them with Indian religions, Iranian religions, and East Asian religions. The term has been introduced in the 20th century and superseded the term Judeo-Christianity, Judeo-Christian tradition for the inclusion of Islam. However, the categorization has been criticized by some for oversimplification of different cultural and doctrinal nuances. For example, Islam shares cultural and doctrinal exchange from Asian religions, which Abrahamic religions are usually contrasted with. Usage The term ''Abrahamic religions'' (and its variations) is a collective religious descriptor for elements shared by Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It features prominently in interfaith dialogue and political discourse but also has entered Academic discourse socializati ...
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Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Israeli-occupied territories, It occupies the Occupied Palestinian territories, Palestinian territories of the West Bank in the east and the Gaza Strip in the south-west. Israel also has a small coastline on the Red Sea at its southernmost point, and part of the Dead Sea lies along its eastern border. Status of Jerusalem, Its proclaimed capital is Jerusalem, while Tel Aviv is the country's Gush Dan, largest urban area and Economy of Israel, economic center. Israel is located in a region known as the Land of Israel, synonymous with the Palestine (region), Palestine region, the Holy Land, and Canaan. In antiquity, it was home to the Canaanite civilisation followed by the History of ancient Israel and Judah, kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Situate ...
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Levantine Arabic
Levantine Arabic, also called Shami (Endonym and exonym, autonym: or ), is an Varieties of Arabic, Arabic variety spoken in the Levant, namely in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel and southern Turkey (historically only in Adana Province, Adana, Mersin Province, Mersin and Hatay Province, Hatay provinces). With over 60 million speakers, Levantine is, alongside Egyptian Arabic, Egyptian, one of the two Prestige (sociolinguistics), prestige varieties of spoken Arabic comprehensible all over the Arab world. Levantine is not Official language, officially recognized in any state or territory. Although it is the majority language in Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria, it is predominantly used as a spoken vernacular in daily communication, whereas most written and official documents and media in these countries use the official Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), a form of Literary language, literary Arabic only Second-language acquisition, acquired through formal education tha ...
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Galilee
Galilee (; ; ; ) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon consisting of two parts: the Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and the Lower Galilee (, ; , ). ''Galilee'' encompasses the area north of the Mount Carmel-Mount Gilboa ridge and south of the east-west section of the Litani River. It extends from the Israeli coastal plain and the shores of the Mediterranean Sea with Acre, Israel, Acre in the west, to the Jordan Valley to the east; and from the Litani in the north plus a piece bordering on the Golan Heights to Dan (ancient city), Dan at the base of Mount Hermon in the northeast, to Mount Carmel and Mount Gilboa in the south. It includes the plains of the Jezreel Valley north of Jenin and the Beit She'an Valley, the Sea of Galilee, and the Hula Valley. Etymology The region's Hebrew name is , meaning 'district' or 'circle'. The Hebrew form used in Isaiah 9, Isaiah 8:23 (Isaiah 9:1 in the Christian Old Testament) is in the construct state, leading to "Galilee of the ...
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