Editing Druze (section)

=== In the diaspora ===
[[Venezuela]] hosts the largest Druze communities outside the Middle East,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.juf.org/news/jerusalem.aspx?id=451177|title=Sending relief--and a message of inclusion and love—to our Druze sisters and brothers|date=6 April 2021|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref><ref name="Khalifa 2013 loc=6-7">{{citation |last=Khalifa |first=Mustafa |year=2013 |title=The impossible partition of Syria |url=http://www.arab-reform.net/en/node/510 |journal=[[Arab Reform Initiative]] |pages=6–7}}</ref> estimated at 60,000 individuals.<ref name="Los Angeles Times"/> Most of them trace their ancestry back to Lebanon and Syria. More than 200,000 people from the [[Suwayda]] area hold Venezuelan citizenship, the majority of whom belong to the [[Druze people in Syria|Syria's Druze]] sect and immigrated to Venezuela in the past century.<ref>{{cite news |title=Chavez tells Israelis to disobey 'genocidal' govt |url=http://www.26sep.net/news_details.php?lng=english&sid=56858 |access-date=15 January 2017 |publisher=26 September News |date=September 2009 |quote=More than 200,000 people from the Sweida area carry Venezuelan citizenship and most are members of Syria's Druse sect, who immigrated to Venezuela in the past century. |archive-date=6 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181006035102/http://www.26sep.net/news_details.php?lng=english&sid=56858 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Arab immigration to Venezuela started as early as the 19th and 20th centuries, with migrants primarily hailing from the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] provinces of [[Lebanon]], [[Syria]], and [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]]. They settled predominantly in [[Caracas]], and have significantly influenced [[Venezuelan culture]], particularly in terms of [[Arabic food]] and music. Religiously, the [[Arab Venezuelans|Arab-Venezuelans]] community consists mainly of Druze and Christians, who are affiliated with the [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]], [[Eastern Orthodox Churches|Eastern Orthodox]] and [[Eastern Rite Catholic Churches]].<ref name="Paul S Rowe">{{cite book |title=Routledge Handbook of Minorities in the Middle East |first=Paul S. |last=Rowe |year=2018 |isbn=9781317233794 |page=352 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |quote=}}</ref> The early Druze migrants to [[Venezuela]] assimilated well into the local population, with some even converting [[Catholicism]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Being a Druze |first=Fuʼād |last=Isḥāq Khūrī |year=2009 |isbn=9781904850014 |page=7 |publisher=[[University of Michigan Press]] |quote=The early migrants tended to mix well with the local population in Venezuela. The Eastern Christians, regardless of the long-standing disagreements (to put it lightly) between the Catholic and Eastern Christian faiths, converted quickly, and even the Druze and Muslims converted to Catholicism}}</ref> Nevertheless, many retained a strong Druze and [[Arab identity]], along with adherence to Druze values. A prominent example of Druze influence in Venezuela is the former vice president, [[Tareck El Aissami]], who is of Druze descent.<ref name="Aamama" /><ref>{{cite news |first=Francisco |last=Toro |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/democracy-post/wp/2017/02/14/the-u-s-treasury-says-that-venezuelas-vice-president-is-a-drug-trafficker/ |title=The U.S. Treasury says that Venezuela's vice president is a drug trafficker |date=14 February 2017 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |quote=El Aissami is a member of Venezuela’s sizable Druze community. His father is Syrian, his mother Lebanese.}}</ref> Other notable Venezuelan figures of Druze origin include [[Haifa El Aissami]] and [[Tarek William Saab]].<ref name="time">{{Cite magazine |last=Padgett |first=Tim |date=18 January 2009 |title=Latin America Looks for a Fresh Start with Obama |url=http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1871986,00.html |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |language=en-US |issn=0040-781X |access-date=3 May 2019}}</ref>

The [[United States]] is the second largest home of Druze communities outside the Middle East after Venezuela.<ref name=":3">{{cite web|url=https://www.juf.org/news/jerusalem.aspx?id=451177|title=Sending relief--and a message of inclusion and love—to our Druze sisters and brothers|date=April 6, 2021|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=November 22, 2021|archive-date=November 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211115024250/https://www.juf.org/news/jerusalem.aspx?id=451177|url-status=live}}</ref> Estimates vary between about 30,000<ref name=":4">{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-druze-future-20170731-story.html |title=Finding a life partner is hard enough. For those of the Druze faith, their future depends on it |date=27 August 2017 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date=22 November 2021 |archive-date=22 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211122142237/https://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-druze-future-20170731-story.html |url-status=live}}</ref> and 50,000<ref name=":3" /> Druzes in the United States, with the largest concentration in [[Southern California]].<ref name=":4" /> American Druze are mostly of [[Lebanese people|Lebanese]] and [[Syrian people|Syrian]] descent.<ref name=":4" />
Members of the Druze faith face the difficulty of finding a Druze partner and practicing [[endogamy]]; marriage outside the Druze faith is strongly discouraged according to the Druze doctrine. They also face the pressure of keeping the religion alive because many Druze immigrants to the [[United States]] converted to [[Protestantism]], becoming communicants of the [[Presbyterian]] or [[Methodist]] churches.<ref name="Kayyali-p.21">{{harvnb|Kayyali|2006|p=21}}: "Many of the Druze have chosen to deemphasize their ethnic identity, and some have officially converted to Christianity."</ref><ref name="Hobby 2011 232">{{cite book |title=Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life |first=Jeneen |last=Hobby |year=2011 |isbn=9781414448916 |page=232 |publisher=[[University of Philadelphia Press]] |quote=US Druze settled in small towns and kept a low profile, joining Protestant churches (usually Presbyterian or Methodist) and often Americanizing their names...}}</ref>