Editing Druze (section)

==== Hamza ibn Ali ibn Ahmad arrives in Cairo ====
Hamza ibn Ali ibn Ahmad, an Ismaili mystic and scholar from [[Zozan]], Khorasan, in the [[Samanid Empire]].<ref name="ABC-CLIO">{{cite book |editor1-last=Hendrix |editor1-first=Scott |editor2-last=Okeja |editor2-first=Uchenna |title=The World's Greatest Religious Leaders: How Religious Figures Helped Shape World History [2 volumes] |date=2018 |publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]] |isbn=978-1-4408-4138-5 |page=11}}</ref> arrived in Fatimid Egypt in 1014 or 1016.<ref name="ABC-CLIO" /> He assembled a group of scholars that met regularly in the Raydan Mosque, near the [[Al-Hakim Mosque]].<ref>{{Citation |url=http://www.druze.com/education/DruzeLuminariesAlHakim-English-level3.pdf |publisher=Druze |title=Luminaries: Al Hakim |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080820044553/http://www.druze.com/education/DruzeLuminariesAlHakim-English-level3.pdf |archive-date=20 August 2008}}</ref> In 1017, Hamza began to preach a ''Muwaḥḥidūn'' (Unitarian) doctrine.

Hamza gained the support of the Fātimid caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, who issued a decree promoting religious freedom<ref>{{blockquote|Remove ye the causes of fear and estrangement from yourselves. Do away with the corruption of delusion and conformity. Be ye certain that the Prince of Believers hath given unto you free will, and hath spared you the trouble of disguising and concealing your true beliefs, so that when ye work ye may keep your deeds pure for God. He hath done thus so that when you relinquish your previous beliefs and doctrines ye shall not indeed lean on such causes of impediments and pretensions. By conveying to you the reality of his intention, the Prince of Believers hath spared you any excuse for doing so. He hath urged you to declare your belief openly. Ye are now safe from any hand which may bring harm unto you. Ye now may find rest in his assurance ye shall not be wronged. Let those who are present convey this message unto the absent so that it may be known by both the distinguished and the common people. It shall thus become a rule to mankind; and Divine Wisdom shall prevail for all the days to come.}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |url=http://ismaili.net/drupal5/node/10766 |title=Ismaili |publisher=Islam Heritage Field |access-date=5 June 2008 |archive-date=11 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190911051643/http://ismaili.net/drupal5/node/10766 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and eventually became a central figure in the Druze faith.<ref>al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah became a central figure in the Druze faith, although his religious position was disputed among scholars. [[John Esposito]] states that al-Hakim believed that "he was not only the divinely appointed religio-political leader, but also the [[Nous|cosmic intellect]] linking God with creation", {{Citation |last=Potter |first=William |title=Melville's Clarel and the Intersympathy of Creeds |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lZXTFCN93kkC&q=druze+hakim+John+Esposito&pg=PA156 |page=156 |year=2004 |publisher=[[Kent State University Press]] |isbn=978-0-87338-797-2}}, while others like Nissîm Dānā and [[Mordechai Nisan]] state that he is perceived as the manifestation and the reincarnation of God or presumably the image of God.</ref>{{sfn|Nisan|2015|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=keD9z1XWuNwC&pg=PA98 98]}}{{sfn|Dānā|2003|p=}}{{Rp|needed =yes|date=April 2012}}