The Institute of Druze Studies

Abstract

The Druzes are a Middle Eastern minority group with their formal origins in 11th century Fatimid Cairo, where they began as a reform movement within the esoteric Ismaili tradition during the caliphate of al-Hakim Bi-Amr Allah (r. 996-1021). The Druze doctrine contains specific moral lessons and rules of individual and communal conduct that are embodied in approximately 30 manuscripts, some of which have been lost. Political and religious power were normally separated within the Druze communities, the religious specialists forming a class of initiates in the esoteric principles. In contrast to related religious groups, women were traditionally initiated.