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Druze: Religions
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These Druze and Nusairis are kaafirs, according to the consensus of the Muslims. It is not permissible to eat the meat they slaughter, or to marry their womenfolk. They do not agree to pay the jizyah, so they are apostates from the religion of Islam and are not Muslims, nor are they Jews or Christians. They do not agree that the five daily prayers are obligatory, or that fasting Ramadaan is obligatory, or that Hajj is obligatory. They do not regard as haraam that which Allaah and His Messenger have forbidden of dead meat or wine, etc. Even if they pronounce the Shahaadatayn, with these beliefs they are kaafirs according to the consensus of the Muslims.
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The Druze religion is a tenth-century offshoot of Islam, but Muslims view Druzes as heretical for accepting the divinity of Hakim, the third Fatimid caliph of Egypt. The group takes its names from Muhammad Bin Ismail ad Darazi, an Iranian mystic. Druzes regard Jethro, father-in-law of Moses, as their chief prophet and make annual pilgrimages to his tomb in lower Galilee. They ... revere Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad, the three most important prophets of Islam.
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The Druze religion did not attempt to change mainstream Islam but to create a whole new religious body influenced by Greek philosophy and Gnosticism, including a form of reincarnation, where Druze reincarnate as future descendents. It is not known to what extent the Druze were self-conscious and distinct before adopting their present religion. Druze religious beliefs developed out of Isma'ilite teachings. Various Jewish, Christian, Gnostic, Neoplatonic, and Magian elements too arecombined under a doctrine of strict monotheism. There is some suggestion that a number of people in widely scattered areas accepted the system as it was initially propagated, by Hamza ibn Ali in 1017 CE, but only the Druze have survived. It is known certainly that a great many groups in the
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The religion of the Druze began in the 9th century AD, as a sect of Islam. Darazi, a preacher, and Hamza ibn Ali ibn Ahmad, a Persian mystic, were instrumental in popularizing the religion. They announced that God had manifested himself in human form as al-Hakim Bi-amr Allah (985 or 996-1021 AD), a Muslim caliph from Cairo, Egypt. They now believe that Darazi began to distort the message; his writings are now considered blasphemous.
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The Druze religion is secret and closed to converts. From the theological perspective, the secrecy derives from the tenet that the gates of the religion were open to new believers for the space of a generation when it was first revealed and everyone was invited to join. Since in their belief everyone alive today is the reincarnation of someone who lived at that time, there is no reason to allow them to join today. Therefore, the Druze refrain from missionizing, and no member of another religion can become Druze.
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As a small sect that emerged from Islam over a thousand years ago, the Druze religion and society has long been cloaked in a tradition of secrecy. Veiled from the outside world, the religious tenets have been vulnerable to distortion, misunderstanding, and misrepresentation. In this book Dr. Anis Obeid, a Druze layman, provides a penetrating analysis of Druze scriptures and beliefs (Tawhid). Presenting a chronological narrative of the foundation and development of the faith, he explains the historical conditions and religious rationale behind this closed religion.
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