Last week’s Druze Emigrants’ Congress, organized by the Druze leadership in Lebanon, was a first in the community’s history. The four-day event attracted 500 participants from 36 countries.  Most notable was the participation of a Druze delegation from Israel.

“Arab-Israeli Druze, and more particularly those opposing the Israeli regime, are part of the Druze community at large. Therefore, they must be encouraged to affirm their Arab identity,” said Kamil Sariedine, chairman of the Druze Emigrant Committee that organized the congress.

In the past week, the debate as to whether or not the attendance of the Israeli delegation was legitimate or not was set off by pro-opposition daily al-Akhbar, with columnist Brahim Al-Amin asking whether the presence of Arab-Israeli Druze encouraged normalization of relations between Lebanon and Israel.

“The participation of Arab-Israeli Druze at the conference was approved by all political factions,” Sariedine said.

Hezbollah, on the other hand, remained silent, though former Druze minister and staunch Hezbollah ally Wiam Wahhab told the press that the conference only served to create more divisions within the Druze community. “I refused receiving the invitation to the conference,” he said. “We wish for the goals of such a conference to be clarified.”

Wahhab’s displeasure appears to have been motivated by the fact that he was invited to the event at the last minute, a move that may have been seen as a snub from the traditional Druze leadership, notably head of the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) Walid Jumblatt – who had told the press that the aim of the congress was to reaffirm the Druze’s Arab and Muslim identity – and former minister Talal Arslan.

The politics, however, left Druze emigrants indifferent. They hoped that it would not deflect from the original aims of the event, which sought to clarify many long-standing issues within the community ranging from inheritance to doctrinal concerns and who can claim to be Druze. “We hope that the congress will be able to outline our primary concerns, which are the identification of the Druze diaspora, the establishment of lines of communication between the various Druze communities, and raising awareness among the youth,” said a wealthy American Druze who didn’t want to be named.

According to Sariedine, there are a million or so Druze scattered around the world: 400,000 residing in Lebanon, 600,000 in Syria, 100,000 in Israel and 75,000 in Jordan, not counting others living in the West, Africa, the Arab Gulf, Australia, Canada and South America.

“We tried during the congress to address as many issues [as possible] relevant to the emigrant community,” he added.

Topics debated during the congress revolved mainly around the social and economic challenges faced by Lebanese Druze, and possible solutions, as well as reforms of the personal status law. “During our visits to emigrant communities in Brazil, the United States, Canada, Nigeria and in the Arab countries, among others, our main goal was to introduce the new Druze Religious Council [the first official Druze institution launched in 2006] to Druze emigrant communities and Druze associations in order to allow them to better network and coordinate their efforts,” said Sariedine.  The congress was another building block in the centralization and institutionalization of the community’s affairs.

The Druze personal status law remains at the crux of the matter. With many Druze emigrating or marrying out of their faith, the community may be on the verge of extinction in a few years, as Druze only consider children born from two Druze parents legitimate. “The community is facing a serious problem today with more and more of its members marrying outside their faith and who are not registering the birth of their children with Dar al-Tayfeh,” said Sariedine, referring to the Druze’s official religious institution. “We have therefore decided to officially recognize the birth of any child born to a Druze father,” he added.

The community is also very secretive when it comes to its faith, something that has discouraged many from practicing their religion. A committee was put in charge of religious reforms, and a simplified religious guidebook was created during the congress. “We plan to train missionaries who will preach the Druze faith to community members in the larger diaspora,” said Sariedine, adding that while the older generation was enthused by the congress’ organization, it was more difficult to reach out to the younger generation. Future congresses might include events catering specifically to the youth, he said. “We need to build an emotional link with them.”

Besides discussing the personal status law, congress participants also went over the many economic and social challenges faced by the community in Lebanon. “We started with a presentation of the Lebanese social and economic reality. We also debated the idea of a consortium that would essentially have two main tasks: the creation of an investment arm and the organization of professional training seminars,” Sariedine said. The investment tool would work with either agricultural projects or small-to-medium enterprises, while seminars would target mostly residents of rural areas. Plans to build low-cost homes for the Druze, and the establishment of a House of Emigrants in the Druze region of Aabadiyeh were also part of the conference.

One topic in particular that was raised by some emigrants but was not, however, addressed, was the controversial issue of Druze waqf, or religious properties. “There is a lack of transparency in the management of the waqf properties. This situation does not encourage the rich Druze to bequeath their wealth to their community,”
complained the wealthy emigrant. For decades, hundreds of waqf properties were illegally registered in the name of one Druze political faction or another, or leased with advantageous conditions to those same parties.

The accusations were brushed off by waqf lawyer Mazen Masri. “There was certainly a lack of transparency in the waqf activities before the formation of the Druze Religious Council in 2006. However, in recent years, new laws were promulgated to prevent the sale and alienation of any property entrusted to the community,” he said.

In spite of some criticisms of its politicization, the Druze Congress has been applauded by most. “The congress was the first successful attempt of this kind in over 25 years,” said Judge Abbas Halabi.  For Sariedine, the congress’ main achievement was in the adoption of transparent and efficient procedures systematizing Druze affairs.

Discounting the political ranting he added: “Like in any other minority, politics can either unite or divide a community. With the recent positive evolution of the political scene, I would say the trend is toward unity.”