Druze, The

The Druze, a much-misunderstood Muslim sect primarily inhabiting the Levant, have endured centuries of persecution by orthodox elements hostile to Islam's rich sectarian diversity on account of their esoteric divergence from mainstream Islam. As a result, they have become a 'fighting minority', as described by one of their most illustrious leaders. Druze religious belief branched out from tenth- and eleventh-century Shi'ism, and includes elements derived from Islamic mysticism. It enshrines all