Editing Druze (section)

=== Relationship with Christians ===
{{Main|Christianity and Druze}} 
[[File:Christian Church and Druze khalwa in Maaser el Chouf.jpg|thumb|[[Christian Church]] and Druze Khalwa in [[Chouf District|Shuf]]: Historically; the Druzes and the [[Christians]] in the Shuf Mountains lived in complete harmony.<ref name="auto5"/>]]
[[Christianity]] and Druze are [[Abrahamic religions]] that share a historical traditional connection with some major theological differences. The two faiths share a common place of origin in the [[Middle East]] and are both [[monotheistic]].
The relationship between Druze and Christians has been characterized largely by [[harmony]] and peaceful [[Plurinationalism|coexistence]].<ref name="Collection 1"/><ref name="auto5"/> Amicable relations between the two groups prevailed throughout most of history, though a few exceptions exist, including the [[1860 civil conflict in Mount Lebanon and Damascus]].{{sfn|Fawaz|1994}}{{page needed|date=October 2024}}<ref name="auto4"/> [[Conversion to Christianity|Conversion of Druze to Christianity]] used to be common practice in the [[Levant]] region.<ref>{{cite book |title=Catholics and Sultans: The Church and the Ottoman Empire 1453–1923 |last=Frazee |first=Charles A. |year=2006 |isbn=9780521027007 |page=191 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |quote=the conversion to Christianity of several Muslim and Druze families aided this growth immeasurably}}</ref><ref name="auto19"/> Over the centuries, several prominent members of the Druze community have embraced Christianity,<ref>{{harvnb|Kayyali|2006|p=21}}: "some Christians (mostly from the Orthodox faith), as well as Druze, converted to Protestantism..."</ref><ref name="Kayyali-p.21"/><ref name="Hobby 2011 232"/><ref>{{cite thesis |last1=Granli |first1=Elisabet |title=Religious conversion in Syria : Alawite and Druze believers |type=Master's thesis |publisher=[[University of Oslo]] |date=2011 |url =http://urn.nb.no/URN:NBN:no-28014 |hdl=10852/16181}}</ref> including some of [[Shihab dynasty]] members,<ref name="Mishaqa23">{{cite book |last1=Mishaqa |first1=Mikhail |editor1-last=Thackston |editor1-first=Wheeler McIntosh |title=Murder, Mayhem, Pillage, and Plunder: The History of the Lebanon in the 18th and 19th Centuries by Mikhayil Mishaqa (1800–1873) |date=1988 |publisher=[[State University of New York Press]] |isbn=9780887067129 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ISHHYMNmp0gC&pg=PA23 |page=23}}</ref> as well as the Abi-Lamma clan.<ref name="ÁgostonMasters2009">{{cite book |first1=Gábor |last1=Ágoston |first2=Bruce Alan |last2=Masters |title=Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QjzYdCxumFcC&pg=PA530 |access-date=25 May 2013 |date=2009 |publisher=[[Infobase Publishing]] |isbn=978-1-4381-1025-7 |page=530}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Breakdown of the State in Lebanon, 1967–1976 |last=al- H̲azīn |first=Farīd |year=2000 |isbn=9780674081055 |page=35 |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |quote=So did other amirs, like the originally Druze Abi-llamah family, which also became Maronite}}</ref>

[[Christianity in the Middle East|Christian]] and Druze communities share a long history of interaction dating back roughly a millennium, particularly in [[Mount Lebanon]].<ref name="Mackey 2009 62"/> Interaction between Christian communities (members of the [[Maronite Church|Maronites]], [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]], [[Melkite Greek Catholic Church|Melkite]], and other churches) and the Unitarian Druze led to the presence of mixed villages and towns in [[Mount Lebanon Governorate|Mount Lebanon]], [[Chouf District|Chouf]],<ref name="auto5"/> [[Wadi al-Taym]],<ref name="Daftary1992">{{cite book |first=Farhad |last=Daftary |title=The Isma'ilis: Their History and Doctrines |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kQGlyZAy134C&pg=PA375 |access-date=13 September 2012 |date=24 April 1992 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-0-521-42974-0 |pages=375–}}</ref> [[Jabal al-Druze]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/the-druze-and-assad-strategic-bedfellows |title=The Druze and Assad: Strategic Bedfellows |website=[[Washington Institute for Near East Policy|The Washington Institute]]}}</ref> the [[Galilee]] region, [[Mount Carmel]], and [[Golan Heights]].<ref>Fadwa N. Kirrish, "Druze Ethnicity in the Golan Heights: The Interface of Religion and Politics," ''Journal of the Institute of Muslim Minority Affairs'' 13.1 (1992), 122–135</ref> The [[Maronite]] [[Catholic]] and the Druze founded modern [[Lebanon]] in the early Eighteenth Century, through a governing and social system known as the "Maronite-Druze dualism" in the [[Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate]].<ref name="Deeb 2013"/>
[[File:Syrian20fashions.jpg|left|thumb|Left to right: Christian mountain dweller from [[Zahlé]], Christian mountain dweller of [[Zgharta]], and a [[Lebanese Druze]] man in traditional attire (1873).]]
Druze doctrine teaches that Christianity is to be "esteemed and praised" as the [[Gospel]] writers are regarded as "carriers of wisdom".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.commentary.org/articles/ray-alan/on-the-horizon-the-strange-world-of-the-druzes/ |title=On the Horizon: The Strange World of the Druzes |date=20 January 1956 |work=Commentary Magazine}}</ref> The Druze faith incorporates some elements of Christianity,<ref name="Quilliam"/><ref name="auto8"/> in addition to adoption of Christian elements on the [[Epistles of Wisdom]].<ref name="SmetTamīmī2007">{{cite book |author1=D. De Smet |author2=Ismāʻīl Tamīmī |author3=Ḥamzah ibn ʻAlī ibn Aḥmad |title=Les Epitres Sacrees Des Druzes Rasa'il Al-hikma: Introduction, Edition Critique Et Traduction Annotee Des Traites Attribues a Hamza B. 'ali Et Isma'il At-tamimi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ixMLAQAAMAAJ |access-date=17 March 2011 |year=2007 |publisher=Peeters |isbn=978-90-429-1943-3}}</ref><ref name="Mahmut 2023">{{cite journal |last1=Mahmut |first1=R. İbrahim |title=The Christian Influences in Ismaili Thought |journal=The Journal of Iranian Studies |date=2023 |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=83–99 |doi=10.33201/iranian.1199758 |doi-access=free}}</ref> The full Druze canon or Druze scripture (Epistles of Wisdom) includes the [[Old Testament]],{{sfn|Nisan|2002|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=keD9z1XWuNwC&pg=PA96 96–]}} the [[New Testament]],{{sfn|Nisan|2002|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=keD9z1XWuNwC&pg=PA96 96–]}} the [[Quran]] and [[philosophical]] works by [[Plato]] and those influenced by [[Socrates]] among works from other [[religion]]s and [[philosopher]]s.{{sfn|Nisan|2002|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=keD9z1XWuNwC&pg=PA96 96–]}} The Druze faith shows influence of [[Christian monasticism]], among other religious practices.<ref name="Stanton 2012 330"/><ref name="Mahmut 2023"/> Some scholars suggest that [[early Christian]] [[Gnosticism|Gnostic]] beliefs might have influenced Druze theology, particularly in concepts of [[Divine illumination|divine knowledge]] and [[reincarnation]].<ref name="Mahmut 2023"/> These influences and incorporations of Christian elements encompass the adoption of the concept of [[Christianizing]] al-[[Mahdi]]'s persona among the Druze, as well as the integration of verses from the [[Bible]] concerning the Messiah by certain Druze founders.<ref name="Mahmut 2023"/>

In terms of religious comparison, [[Nicene Christianity|mainstream Christian denominations]] do not believe in [[reincarnation]] or the [[transmigration of the soul]], unlike the Druze.{{Sfn|Nisan|2002|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=keD9z1XWuNwC&pg=PA98 95]}} [[Evangelism]] is widely seen as central to the Christian faith, unlike the Druze who do not accept converts. Marriage outside the Druze faith is rare and is strongly discouraged. Similarities between the Druze and Christians include commonalities in their view of [[monogamy|monogamous]] [[Christian views on marriage|marriage]], as well as [[Christian views on divorce|the forbidding of divorce and remarriage]],{{Sfn|Nisan|2002|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=keD9z1XWuNwC&pg=PA98 95]}} in addition to the belief in the [[Monotheism|oneness of God]] and [[theophany]].{{sfn|Nisan|2002|p=95}}

Neither mainstream Christian denominations nor Druze require male [[circumcision]],<ref>{{Cite book|last=Ellwood|first=Robert S. |title=The Encyclopedia of World Religions|publisher=Infobase Publishing|year=2008|isbn=9781438110387|pages=95|quote=It is obligatory among Jews, Muslims, and Coptic Christians. Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant Christians do not require circumcision. Starting in the last half of the 19th century, however, circumcision also became common among Christians in Europe and especially in North America.}}</ref><ref name="auto20"/> though male circumcision is commonly practiced in many predominantly [[Christianity by country|Christian countries]] and many Christian communities,<ref>{{cite book|title=The Female Circumcision Controversy: An Anthropological Perspective|first=Ellen|last= Gruenbaum|year= 2015| isbn= 9780812292510| page =61 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|quote= Christian theology generally interprets male circumcision to be an Old Testament rule that is no longer an obligation ... though in many countries (especially the United States and Sub-Saharan Africa, but not so much in Europe) it is widely practiced among Christians}}</ref> and it is practiced in [[Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria|Coptic Christianity]], the [[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church|Ethiopian Orthodox Church]], and the [[Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church]] as a [[rite of passage]].<ref>{{Cite book|last= Stearns|first=Peter N. |title=The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern World|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|year=2008|isbn=9780195176322|page=179|quote=Uniformly practiced by Jews, Muslims, and the members of Coptic, Ethiopian, and Eritrean Orthodox Churches, male circumcision remains prevalent in many regions of the world, particularly Africa, South and East Asia, Oceania, and Anglosphere countries.}}</ref><ref name=WHO_2007_GTDPSA>{{cite web |title=Male circumcision: Global trends and determinants of prevalence, safety and acceptability |year=2007 |publisher=World Health Organization |url=http://www.unaids.org/sites/default/files/media_asset/jc1360_male_circumcision_en_0.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222194858/http://www.unaids.org/sites/default/files/media_asset/jc1360_male_circumcision_en_0.pdf |archive-date=2015-12-22 }}</ref><ref name=riggs_2006>{{cite book |author=Thomas Riggs |title=Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices: Religions and denominations |chapter=Christianity: Coptic Christianity |year=2006 |publisher=Thomson Gale |isbn=978-0-7876-6612-5 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uTMOAQAAMAAJ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160118224324/https://books.google.com/books?id=uTMOAQAAMAAJ |archive-date=2016-01-18 }}</ref><ref name=Columbia_encyc_2011_circ>{{cite encyclopedia |year=2011 |title=Circumcision |encyclopedia=Columbia Encyclopedia |publisher=Columbia University Press |url=http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/science/circumcision.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924051012/http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/science/circumcision.html |archive-date=2015-09-24 }}</ref><ref name=clark_2011>{{cite book |author=Clark M |title=Islam For Dummies |page=170 |date=2011 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-118-05396-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zPXu561ZpvgC&pg=PA178 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160118224324/https://books.google.com/books?id=zPXu561ZpvgC&pg=PA178 |archive-date=18 January 2016 }}</ref> Male circumcision is also widely practiced by the Druze,<ref name="auto10"/> but as a cultural tradition, since circumcision has no religious significance in the Druze faith.<ref name="auto20"/> 
[[File:Maqam Al-masih.jpg|thumb|The Druze [[Maqam (shrine)|Maqam]] Al-Masih ([[Jesus]]) in [[Suwayda Governorate]]: Both religions revere Jesus.<ref name="Hitti 1928 37" />]]
Both faiths give a prominent place to [[Jesus]]:<ref name="Hitti 1928 37" />{{sfn|Dānā|2008|p=17}} In Christianity, Jesus is the central figure, seen as the messiah. To the Druze, Jesus is an important prophet of God,<ref name="Hitti 1928 37"/>{{sfn|Dānā|2008|p=17}} being among the seven prophets (including Muhammad) who appeared in different periods of history.<ref>{{cite book |editor-first=David |editor-last=Seddon |title=A Political and Economic Dictionary of the Middle East |year=2013 |isbn=9781135355616 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |quote=...Druze believe in seven prophets: Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, and Muhammad ibn Ismail ad-Darazi..}}</ref> The Druze revere Jesus "the son of [[Saint Joseph|Joseph]] and [[Mary, mother of Jesus|Mary]]" and his [[Four Evangelists|four disciples]], who wrote the Gospels.{{sfn|Dānā|2008|p=47}} According to the Druze manuscripts Jesus is the Greatest Imam and the incarnation of Ultimate [[Reason]] (''Akl'') on earth and the first cosmic principle (''Hadd''),{{sfn|Dānā|2008|p=47}}<ref name="Louis">{{cite book |title=The Passion of Al-Hallaj, Mystic and Martyr of Islam |volume=1: The Life of Al-Hallaj |first=Louis |last=Massignon |year=2019 |isbn=9780691610832| page =594 |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]]}}</ref> and regards Jesus and [[Hamza ibn Ali]] as the incarnations of one of the five great celestial powers, who form part of their system.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought |first=Patricia |last=Crone |year=2013 |isbn=9780691134840 |page=139 |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |quote=}}</ref> In the Druze tradition, Jesus is known under three titles: the True Messiah (''al-Masih al-Haq''), the Messiah of all Nations (''Masih al-Umam''), and the Messiah of Sinners. This is due, respectively, to the belief that Jesus delivered the true Gospel message, the belief that he was the Saviour of all nations, and the belief that he offers forgiveness.{{sfn|Swayd|2009|p=88|ps=: "Jesus is known in the Druze tradition as the "True Messiah" (al-Masih al-Haq), for he delivered what Druzes view as the true message. He is also referred to as the "Messiah of the Nations"(Masih al-Umam) because he was sent to the world as "Masih of Sins" because he is the one who forgives."}}

Both religions venerate the [[Virgin Mary]],<ref>{{cite book |title=The Culture of Sectarianism: Community, History, and Violence in Nineteenth-Century Ottoman Lebanon |first=Ussama |last=Makdisi|authorlink=Ussama Makdisi |year=2000 |isbn=978-0520218468 |page=35 |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |quote=}}</ref> [[John the Baptist]],{{sfn|Swayd|2015|p=7}}<ref>{{harvnb|Brockman|2011|p=259}}: "They included Jesus, John the Baptist, Moses, and Mohammed—all teachers of monotheism"</ref> [[Saint George]],<ref>{{cite book |title=The Holy Land: An Oxford Archaeological Guide from Earliest Times to 1700 |first=Jerome |last=Murphy-O'Connor |year=2008 |isbn=9780191647666 |page=205 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]}}</ref> [[Elijah]],{{sfn|Swayd|2015|p=7}} [[Luke the Evangelist]],<ref name="Swayd 2009"/> [[Job (biblical figure)|Job]] and other common figures.<ref name="Swayd 2009"/> Figures in the Old Testament such as [[Adam]], [[Noah]], [[Abraham]], [[Moses]], and [[Jethro (biblical figure)|Jethro]] are considered important prophets of God in the Druze faith, being among the seven prophets who appeared in different periods of history.<ref name="Hitti 1928 37" />{{sfn|Dānā|2008|p=17}}