The Druzes: A New Study of their History, Faith and Society.

• Author: Poonawala, Ismail K.

The Druzes, an offshoot of the Isma ilis/Fatimids, like their parent body, were studied and judged almost entirely in the light of sources written by their adversaries; hence many misconceptions about them persist to this day. The most important contribution to Druze studies was the series of articles by Baron Silvestre de Sacy, the most distinguished orientalist of his time, culminating in his major work, the Expose de la religion des Druzes (Paris, 1838, republished in 1964). It marked a new beginning in the study of the Druze, their early history and doctrines based on their own sources. After that, serious study came to a standstill for a century, with the exception of some minor works dealing with their religion and the accounts of travelers. It was not until the thirties of this century that there was renewal of interest in the Druze.

As far back as de Sacy, Hamza's (the founder of the Druze religious doctrine) debt to Isma ilism was recognized, but the paucity of reliable information about the Isma ilis and the availability of their texts made it very difficult to judge the extent of the debt. Lately the situation has completely changed with the publication, translation and analysis of several early Isma ili/Fatimid texts. David Bryer's "The Origins of the Druze Religion" (Der Islam 51 [1975]: 47-83, 239-62; 53 [1976]: 5-27), which examines the Isma ili background and the relationship of Hamza's doctrine of Isma ilism, therefore marks another milestone in the study of the Druze. The central doctrine of the Druze is the belief that al-Hakim, the sixth Fatimid caliph, was the manifestation of the Divinity, and that he created another hierarchy of ministers.

The book under review, first published in 1984, is among the more recent studies written by a Druze scholar. As stated by the author it was written with two objectives: first, to place the beliefs of the Druzes in the context of the development of...