Druze
Druze is a religious group living mainly in the Middle East, whose religion is an offshoot of Islam, but also incorporates some Gnostic, neo-Platonic and other religious elements.
Lebanon
The Maronite-Druze conflict in Lebanon, 1840-60 was an outgrowth of the Maronite Christian independence movement directed against the Druze and Ottoman-Turks. The civil war was not therefore a religious war, except in Damascus where it spread and where the population was anti-Christian. The movement culminated with the 1859-60 massacre and defeat of the Christians by the Druzes, who were aided by the Turks. French intervention on behalf of the Maronites did not help the Maronite national movement since France was restricted in 1860 by Britain which did not want the Ottoman Empire dismembered. But European intervention pressured the Turks to treat the Maronites more justly.[1]
External Links
The Druze, Jewish Virtual Library
references
- ↑ Antoine Abraham, "Lebanese Communal Relations," Muslim World 1977 67(2): 91-105