LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Druze: Lebanese Druze
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After the Middle Eastern countries in which they live gained independence, the Druze remained politically active. They have served in their countries’ armed forces and have been elected to the legislatures and appointed to ministerial positions in the cabinets of Israel, Lebanon, and Syria. A Lebanese Druze leader founded Lebanon’s Progressive Socialist Party, which promotes social change, and the Druze continue to dominate that party. During the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990) Druze soldiers fought primarily on the side of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and other Muslims against the Maronite Christians and Christian militias. In Syria the Druze have participated in the regionalist wing, as opposed to the Arab-unity wing, of the ruling Baath party. Druze in Israel have a status separate from that of other Arabic speakers, and, unlike other Arabs, the Druze serve in the Israeli armed forces.
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According to a Lebanese Druze journalist, `Adib al-Shishakli appointed his brother, Salah, Director of Border Control, a position he exploited to centralize the smuggling of drugs in Syria under his personal command. Border guards and official vehicles were used to transport Turkish opium and Lebanese hashish to Jordan where it was then shipped to Egypt for consumption. According to this account, which seems reliable, Salah al-Shishakli pushed the Druzes out of the drug trade, slashing Atrash finances and harming the Druze community as a whole.
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The Druze were nominally ruled by the Ottoman Empire from the 16th century up to 1918. They gained virtual autonomy by their fierce opposition to forces sent by the Ottoman sultan to subjugate them. In 1860 a conflict broke out between the Maronites—Syrian Christians—in the course of which several thousand Maronites were killed and large numbers driven from their homes. Europe's major powers intervened to protect the Christians, with a French force occupying Lebanon for nearly a year. A Christian governor-general was appointed administrator in 1864, and a large measure of autonomy was conferred on Lebanon. These events marked the end of the political importance of the Lebanese Druze, who until 1918 remained an isolated and conservative community.
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The Druze believe in the co-existence of all religions, national and ethnic groups living under one flag. The sect's beliefs include loyalty to the country in which they reside, although all maintain close ties with their homeland. Syrian Druze serve in the Syrian military; Lebanese Druze serve in the Lebanese Army; and Israeli Druze service in the Israeli Defense Forces. Many young Druze play a part in the daily defense of Israel's borders, serving the required three years.
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Radio announcer Casey Kasem, born Kemal Amin Kasem to Lebanese Druze immigrants to the USA, is probably that country's best-known figure of Druze heritage. About 20,000 Druze live in the United States.
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President Quwwatli earned the distinction of breaking the Atrash political monopoly over the Jabal when he managed to appoint a Lebanese Druze as governor in 1948. Shishakli broke with Quwwatli's more cautious policy of using only Lebanese Druzes as government emissaries to the Jabal; he routinely appointed non-Druze governors of the Jabal. Following his second coup in 1951, Shishakli further demonstrated his destain for Druze sensibilities by appointed to the post a succession of unknown officials whose only qualifications were their membership in Shishakli's new Arab Liberation Movement and their complete loyalty to the President. Officials subordinate to the Muhafiz were likewise replaced with non-Druzes picked for their loyalty to the Syrian government. In Shahba, where the `Amr clan, the second family of the Jabal and close ally of the Atrashes, had traditionally provided most of the local officials, outsiders were given full control.
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Lebanese Druze