LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Druze: Jabal Druze
built 628 days ago
Whether Shishakli's neglect of the Jabal Druze economy was purposeful or benign, there was no doubt about his intention to limit the political authority of the Druzes and to make the community an integral part of the population. The one development project which did attract attention was the construction of an excellent asphalt road running from Suwayda' due north almost as far as Shahba, the second most important town in the Jabal situated in the heart of Atrash territory. The purpose of this road... was so that "troops could be moved its entire distance in half an hour if necessary."
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In 1923 Captain Carbillet, the French, but Druze-elected, governor of Jabal ad-Duruz, introduced modern administrative and social reforms that antagonized the population. The high-handed treatment accorded Druze complaints by the high commissioner, General Maurice Sarrail, and his arrest and detainment of several Druze leaders in July 1925 resulted in a full-fledged rebellion. Led by Sultan al-Atrash, the Druze defeated the French in August and by September were joined by Syrian nationalists from the People's Party, who entreated their countrymen to join the revolt. When the rebellion reached Damascus, the French bombed the city, but Druze discontent continued to expand into southern Lebanon. The French fought the insurgents throughout 1926, bombing Damascus once again, this time meeting with greater success, and by mid-1927 most of the trouble had died out.
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On the contrary, the incorporation of the Jabal Druze into the Syrian state was not carried out smoothly. The Atrash family and other leading tribes of the Jabal resisted the Syrian government's attempts to dismantle the administrative autonomy of the Jabal Druze, just as they fought government attempts to undermine their traditional authority in the Jabal community. The Atrash leaders used both military and moral force in their attempt to preserve the political independence and economic privileges their community had enjoyed under the French and to resist the encroachment of central authority into Druze politics.
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An Arab nationalist symbol of the 1925 to 1927 Jabal Druze revolt against the French forces, Sultan al-Atrash continued to influence local and national politics amongst Druzes until his death in 1982. In the 1967 war between Israel and the Arab states, Israel conquered vast lands, including the Syrian Golan Heights, where four Druze villages have resisted Israeli attempts for annexation; they continue to reassert their Syrian identity, and wish to reunite one day with their relatives in Syria.
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There are numerous Druze centres in the Middle East. In Syria the Druze population is concentrated in the Jabal Al-Duruz region which borders Jordan and Israel. In Lebanon they are concentrated in the centre of the country to t he east of Beirut. In Israel they are concentrated in Galilee.
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The uqqal take care of the religion for the juhhal, and they alone attend the religious meetings taking place on the night between Thursday and Friday, in ordinary buildings in the outskirts of Druze villages. For the Druze, the centre of religious activities is located to the mountainous region called Jabalu d-Duruz in Syria.
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Jabal Druze