All sorts of means have been tried by their overlords to put them down. вЂњAll sorts of theories have been advanced by scholars to account for their peculiar tenets and customs. Writing in 1928, the English American Semitic scholar and Zionist, Richard Gottheil, said: вЂњFor some 900 years, a strange national-religious body has lived in Syria. However, given all the myths and misconceptions that surround them, the true mystery is how this small sect has not only managed to co-exist peacefully in the troubled ethnic and sectarian mosaic of the Middle East, but has also remained a consistently relevant player in the politics and cultural landscape of the region. Today, as throughout their history, the Druze remain wreathed in mystery. But for many young Druze committed to marrying within their faith вЂ“ especially those living in dwindling overseas communities вЂ“ finding partners is becoming a growing problem that bodes ill for the long-term future of the people. Only rarely will a Druze marry an outsider. Nor are they bound to the duties of the initiates (the uqqal). Indeed, even the non-initiates (the juhhal) among the Druze themselves either have no access, or choose not to have access, to their faithвЂ™s religious texts. While they live mainly in the Middle East, in response to economic and political pressures, including conflicts and persecution, over the decades Druze communities have also sprung up in other countries around the world.Д«ut wherever they are found, the Druze form tight-knit communities, closed to outsiders вЂ“ since 1043, converts have not been permitted. There are an estimated 1.5 million or more Druze in the world today. As a result of the laying down of the modern borders of the Middle East in the early 20th century, the Druze can be found today chiefly in Syria and Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, and Jordan.

With a fierce generational attachment to the lands on which they have lived for centuries, the Druze are culturally an Arab Middle Eastern community.

To the Druze, both of these characterizations are misperceptions. To many, the Druze are an enigma, Arabic-speaking followers of an esoteric Abrahamic faith rooted in Islam, but which branched out on a different spiritual path in the 11th century.

Points stronghold kingdoms