Thoughts on the Druze? They primarily reside in Lebanon, the Golan Heights, and Israel. They are a pro-Zionist Arab group and many serve in the IDF.

Their religion began as a sect of Ismaili Shiism but they eventually came to form their own distinct ethno-religion. You cannot convert to the Druze religion, you can only be born a Druze.

They teach strict Tawhid (Unitarianism) but they believe that Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah is God since they view him as a theophany of God's essence on earth. They believe his forerunner and founder of the Druze religion, Al-Hamza ibn Ali ibn Ahmad, is the reincarnation of Jesus and was inhabited by God's intellect. They do not worship Al-Hamza but they do worship Al-Hakim.

They consider Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, to be their patriarch, believing themselves to be descendants of him, similar to how Jews consider Abraham their patriarch. Jethro is the second most important figure in the Druze religion after Al-Hakim.

They believe Jesus was a great prophet and teacher who was inhabited by the Intellect of God, making him Christ. They believe that he committed some sin though, causing the divine intellect to abandon him and leave him to be crucified. However, they believe that he was forgiven by God and his soul was rescued by the divine intellect, whereby his soul appeared to his followers after his death when the divine intellect returned to him after his bodily death.

They have two scriptures: The Qur'an and the Epistle of Wisdom.

They believe in reincarnation. They believe that the souls of Druze originally inhabited the stars in the sky and that they fell but over the course of many lifetimes, by being reincarnated as other Druze, they can perfect themselves and escape the sublunar world, thereby ending the cycle of reincarnation.

They consider Pythagoras, Plato, and Aristotle to be prophets along with the typical Jewish, Christian, and Muslim prophets.

>>17765830 (OP)
They should cover the eyes and only appear the eyes/eyebrows
Sexier and more mysterious
I pop an instant boner when i see masked women for some reason

>>17765830 (OP)
>Believe the Quran is scripture
>also believe Jesus was crucified and died
>also preach arianism

Very confused group of chaps you got there.

>>17765839
Ismaili Shia Islam teaches that Jesus was crucified in general, so they inherited that belief from them. Not everyone interprets Quran 4:157 in the same way. The idea that it teaches Jesus was never crucified is the mainstream orthodox Islamic interpretation, but there are other interpretations. Druze beliefs surrounding Jesus are not Arian, they're actually more similar to Adoptionism or Docetism.

>>17765830 (OP)
>they can perfect themselves and escape the sublunar world, thereby ending the cycle
all that just to throw gnosticism on top of it

its like a shitty hodgepodge of every religious teaching going on around the time of Christ jammed into one confused group of people

>>17765830 (OP)
I enjoy them, as a mystery cult. I think that without them or other such sects the middle east would be a little too gray to be tolerable.
If I am not mistaken they used to believe Druze went to China when they died. Even had mortuary hymns to that effect.
>>17765839
Why? because they don't fall in a neat little box?
>>17765872
Most of their beliefs are muslim in origin, and IIRC the religion only dates back to the Crusades or around that.

>>17765947
>If I am not mistaken they used to believe Druze went to China when they died. Even had mortuary hymns to that effect.
Could you elaborate on this? Like they thought their souls went to China? Don't they believe in reincarnation?

>>17766052
Sorry, they re-incarnate in China, which they believe to have a substantial Druze population. They don't think China is a heaven in the familiar sense.

>>17766080
China is also tied to their view of the End of Times iirc. They believe the Druze there will march west in a massive army as a sign of the end of times.

>>17766085
Do they believe Al-Hakim will return at the end of time? Do they believe in a general resurrection?

>>17765830 (OP)
They're essentially a ghulat sect, similar to the Alawites and Alevi, but became so insular they turned into a post-Islamic religion. Of course mainstream Muslims wouldn't even consider Alawites or Alevis as Muslims but they continue to regard themselves as such, while Druze do not.

>>17766124
As far as I know. I think they do believe in Hakim's return. No idea about resurrection.

>>17765830 (OP)
>Thoughts on the Druze? They primarily reside in Lebanon, the Golan Heights, and Israel. They are a pro-Zionist Arab group and many serve in the IDF.
The ones in Israel are pro-Israel. I find their politics more interesting than the religion (just a personal preference, not knocking it). But it's said that Druze tend to go where the power is in whatever area they're in. So in Israel, they go with the Jews, while the ones in Syria went with Assad, although when the civil war started, they worked out a deal to have an autonomous region in the south with their own police and other assorted men-with-guns and Assad left them alone.

In Lebanon, they're led by Walid Jumblatt who comes from a long line of Druze leaders (going back centuries?). And he allied with the PLO during the Lebanese Civil War and fought the Christians, and it's said you can detect shifts in the balance of power in Lebanon by watching how Jumblatt makes moves. So, like, during the U.S. invasion of Iraq, he wasn't actually pro-U.S. but pivoted a bit against Syria, even though he had once been allies with Syria. I dunno it gets complicated.

He also has a giant painting of Zhukov in his compound in Mokhtara.

>>17767326

>>17767326
It makes a lot of sense if you consider their situation to be fair, "Sunni Islam or Bust" is by no means a desirable outcome when you are basically Post-Muslim.
I also find them very politically interesting. Prior to the modern Middle east Situation they had a long history of rebellion against Ottoman power. One of those caused the French to intervene due to their sustained killings of Maronites.

>>17765947
>Why? because they don't fall in a neat little box?
no because the Quran specifically denies the crucifixion of Jesus, retard.

>Surah Na-Nisa 157 - and for boasting, “We killed the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, the messenger of Allah.” But they neither killed nor crucified him—it was only made to appear so.1 Even those who argue for this ˹crucifixion˺ are in doubt. They have no knowledge whatsoever—only making assumptions. They certainly did not kill him.

>>17765835
Nan seeing the nose and hiding the mouth is hotter