07-26-2018, 10:24 PM
*** 27-Jul-18 World View -- ISIS terror attack kills hundreds of Druze in southern Syria
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
****
**** ISIS terror attack kills hundreds of Druze in southern Syria
****
![[Image: g180726b.jpg]](http://Media.GenerationalDynamics.com/ww2010/g180726b.jpg)
Mourners carry a coffin of one of Wednesday's victims (SANA)
A series of gruesome terror attacks on Wednesday by the so-called
Islamic State (IS or ISIS or ISIL or Daesh) in the Druze-majority
province of Sweida in southern Syria has killed at least 250 people.
At least 56 militants carried out the attack. The militants went from
home to home, stabbing civilians, killing families as they slept,
before launching several suicide bombings. ISIS claimed credit for
the attacks on its web site.
The attacks targeted the community of 800,000 Druze in Sweida. The
Druze religion is a splinter variant off of Shia Islam, and the Druze
are considered apostates by extremist jihadists.
The total Druze community in the region consists about one million
living in Syria and Lebanon, 104,000 living in Israel, and 40,000
living in Jordan. They're an important political force in both Israel
and Lebanon. In Syria, they've stayed neutral in the civil war.
They've lived peaceful among the Sunni and Shia Arabs in Syria and
Lebanon for over a millennium.
However, ISIS consists mostly of foreign fighters who came to Syria
from over 80 countries to fight Syria's president Bashar al-Assad,
after al-Assad began committing genocide and ethnic cleansing among
innocent Sunni women and children who opposed him politically. The
foreign fighters in ISIS have no historic relationship with the Druze,
so they were an easy target.
In the early years of Syria's civil war, al-Assad's army provided
protection to the Druze. Some Druze are now accusing al-Assad of
having withdrawn that protection because the neutral Druze refused to
join al-Assad's army.
ISIS has lost a great deal of territory in Syria in the last year.
They were driven out of their Caliphate in Raqqa by the Kurdish YPG,
backed by the United States. And they were driven out of the region
near Damascus by the Syrian army. There are still ISIS pockets in
southern and eastern Syria. Some pundits had declared that ISIS had
been completely defeated, but Wednesday's massive attack shows that's
far from the truth, and additional attacks can be expected. AFP and CNN and Irish Times and Syria Direct and Sana (Damascus)
****
**** History of the Druze religion
****
The Druze came into existence as a secret society, and only announced
itself to the world in the early 1000s (11th century). There was a
brief period of proselytizing that ended in 1050. Since then it has
been impossible to convert to Druze from any other religion. Druze
marry inside their religion, with less than 1% marrying people of
other religions.
Within Israel, Druze are subject to military draft, unlike Israeli
Arabs, who are exempt.
The Druze creed arose from a branch of Shia Islam, but it incorporates
concepts from Christianity and Judaism, as well from Greek philosophy
and Hindu and Buddhist influences.
Like any other society, they have had their generational crisis wars,
during some of which they were victims of genocide, and in others they
were perpetrators of genocide, making them no different from anyone
else. A particularly bloody generational crisis war occurred in 1860
with the Maronite Christians, which is considered a victory by the
Druze, resulting in the deaths of 10,000 Christians. It's only been
in recent years that the two groups have attempted to reconcile.
Pew Research and Jewish Virtual Library
Related Articles
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Syria, Bashar al-Assad,
Islamic State / of Iraq and Syria/Sham/the Levant, IS, ISIS, ISIL, Daesh,
Sweida, Druze, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Maronite Christians
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
- ISIS terror attack kills hundreds of Druze in southern Syria
- History of the Druze religion
****
**** ISIS terror attack kills hundreds of Druze in southern Syria
****
Mourners carry a coffin of one of Wednesday's victims (SANA)
A series of gruesome terror attacks on Wednesday by the so-called
Islamic State (IS or ISIS or ISIL or Daesh) in the Druze-majority
province of Sweida in southern Syria has killed at least 250 people.
At least 56 militants carried out the attack. The militants went from
home to home, stabbing civilians, killing families as they slept,
before launching several suicide bombings. ISIS claimed credit for
the attacks on its web site.
The attacks targeted the community of 800,000 Druze in Sweida. The
Druze religion is a splinter variant off of Shia Islam, and the Druze
are considered apostates by extremist jihadists.
The total Druze community in the region consists about one million
living in Syria and Lebanon, 104,000 living in Israel, and 40,000
living in Jordan. They're an important political force in both Israel
and Lebanon. In Syria, they've stayed neutral in the civil war.
They've lived peaceful among the Sunni and Shia Arabs in Syria and
Lebanon for over a millennium.
However, ISIS consists mostly of foreign fighters who came to Syria
from over 80 countries to fight Syria's president Bashar al-Assad,
after al-Assad began committing genocide and ethnic cleansing among
innocent Sunni women and children who opposed him politically. The
foreign fighters in ISIS have no historic relationship with the Druze,
so they were an easy target.
In the early years of Syria's civil war, al-Assad's army provided
protection to the Druze. Some Druze are now accusing al-Assad of
having withdrawn that protection because the neutral Druze refused to
join al-Assad's army.
ISIS has lost a great deal of territory in Syria in the last year.
They were driven out of their Caliphate in Raqqa by the Kurdish YPG,
backed by the United States. And they were driven out of the region
near Damascus by the Syrian army. There are still ISIS pockets in
southern and eastern Syria. Some pundits had declared that ISIS had
been completely defeated, but Wednesday's massive attack shows that's
far from the truth, and additional attacks can be expected. AFP and CNN and Irish Times and Syria Direct and Sana (Damascus)
****
**** History of the Druze religion
****
The Druze came into existence as a secret society, and only announced
itself to the world in the early 1000s (11th century). There was a
brief period of proselytizing that ended in 1050. Since then it has
been impossible to convert to Druze from any other religion. Druze
marry inside their religion, with less than 1% marrying people of
other religions.
Within Israel, Druze are subject to military draft, unlike Israeli
Arabs, who are exempt.
The Druze creed arose from a branch of Shia Islam, but it incorporates
concepts from Christianity and Judaism, as well from Greek philosophy
and Hindu and Buddhist influences.
Like any other society, they have had their generational crisis wars,
during some of which they were victims of genocide, and in others they
were perpetrators of genocide, making them no different from anyone
else. A particularly bloody generational crisis war occurred in 1860
with the Maronite Christians, which is considered a victory by the
Druze, resulting in the deaths of 10,000 Christians. It's only been
in recent years that the two groups have attempted to reconcile.
Pew Research and Jewish Virtual Library
Related Articles
- Jihadist Attack on Druze population could bring Israel into Syria war (14-Jun-2015)
- Bashar al-Assad declares victory in southern Syria as opponents are bused out (22-Jul-2018)
- Concerns grow in Israel over Syrian and Russian assaults on Daraa and Quneitra provinces (25-Jun-2018)
- Investigation reveals depraved new atrocities by Syria's Bashar al-Assad (08-Feb-2017)
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Syria, Bashar al-Assad,
Islamic State / of Iraq and Syria/Sham/the Levant, IS, ISIS, ISIL, Daesh,
Sweida, Druze, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Maronite Christians
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
