Editing Druze (section)

==== Disappearance of Al-Hakim ====
Al-Hakim disappeared one night while on his evening ride—presumably assassinated, perhaps at the behest of his formidable elder sister [[Sitt al-Mulk]]. The Druze believe he went into [[Occultation (Islam)|Occultation]] with Hamza ibn Ali and three other prominent preachers, leaving the care of the "Unitarian missionary movement" to a new leader, al-Muqtana Baha'uddin.{{citation needed|date=December 2018}}

The call was suspended briefly between 19 May 1018 and 9 May 1019 during the [[apostasy]] of al-Darazi and again between 1021 and 1026 during a period of persecution by the [[Fatimid Caliphate|Fatimid caliph]] [[al-Zahir li-I'zaz Din Allah]] for those who had sworn the [[oath]] to accept the call.{{sfn|Makarim|1974}}{{page needed|date=October 2024}}

Persecutions started forty days after the disappearance into Occultation of al-Hakim, who was thought to have been converting people to the Unitarian faith for over twenty years prior.{{sfn|Makarim|1974}}{{page needed|date=October 2024}} Al-Hakim convinced some heretical followers such as al-Darazi of his [[soteriological]] [[divinity]] and officially declared the Divine call after issuing a decree promoting religious freedom.<ref name="Daftary1992"/>{{sfn|Makarim|1974}}{{page needed|date=October 2024}}

Al-Hakim was replaced by his underage son, al-Zahir li-I'zaz Din Allah. The Unitarian/Druze movement acknowledged al-Zahir as the caliph but continued to regard Hamzah as its Imam.<ref name="samy"/> The young caliph's regent, Sitt al-Mulk, ordered the army to destroy the movement in 1021.<ref name=about /> At the same time, Bahāʼ al-Dīn was assigned the leadership of the Unitarians by Hamza.<ref name="samy" />

For the next seven years, the Druze faced extreme persecution by al-Zahir li-I'zaz Din Allah, who wanted to eradicate the faith.<ref name="RebeccaE">{{cite encyclopedia |title=The Druze |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements |url=http://www.sacredtribesjournal.org/images/Encyclopedia/The_Druze.pdf |last=Erickson |first=Rebecca |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518085757/http://www.sacredtribesjournal.org/images/Encyclopedia/The_Druze.pdf |archive-date=18 May 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> This was the result of a power struggle inside of the Fatimid Calphate, in which the Druze were viewed with suspicion because they refused to recognize the new caliph as their Imam.

Many spies, mainly the followers of al-Darazi, joined the Unitarian movement to infiltrate the Druze community. The spies set about agitating trouble and soiling the reputation of the Druze. This resulted in friction with the new caliph who clashed militarily with the Druze community. The clashes ranged from [[Antioch]] to [[Alexandria]], where tens of thousands of Druze were slaughtered by the Fatimid army,<ref name=about /> "this mass persecution known by the Druze as the period of the ''mihna''".<ref name="auto18">{{cite book |title=The Druze between Palestine and Israel 1947–49 |first=L.|last=Parsons |year=2000 |isbn=9780230595989 |page=2 |publisher=Springer |quote=With the succession of al-Zahir to the Fatimid caliphate a mass persecution (known by the Druze as the period of the ''mihna'') of the Muwaḥḥidūn was instigated ...}}</ref> The largest massacre was at Antioch, where 5000 prominent Druze were killed, followed by that of [[Aleppo]].<ref name=about /> As a result, the faith went underground, in hope of survival, as those captured were either forced to renounce their faith or be killed. Druze survivors "were found principally in southern Lebanon and Syria".

In 1038, two years after the death of al-Zahir li-I'zaz Din Allah, the Druze movement was able to resume because the new leadership that replaced him had friendly political ties with at least one prominent Druze leader.<ref name=RebeccaE />