The Druze are a mystical religious minority that emerged from Shia Islam and believes in reincarnation. They number some 1m across the Levant. Marriage with outsiders is forbidden. Their political influence across the Middle East outweighs their numbers, as they have tended to align themselves with ruling powers.
Syria's Druze are concentrated along the borders with Israel and Jordan, with their heartland in the southern city of Suwayda, set amid black volcanic basalt. Venezuelan flags fly in the city alongside the Druze rainbow pennant—a tribute to the Druze diaspora in Venezuela.
Druze officers were once part of Syria's security state under Hafez al-Assad and his son Bashar. In the civil war's early years, Druze militias supported the regime; as its grip weakened, protests broke out in Suwayda. The Druze distrust Ahmed al-Sharaa's Islamist-leaning government. In 2015 Jabhat al-Nusra, an al-Qaeda affiliate and precursor to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, massacred around 20 Druze villagers. Around the same time, al-Sharaa said the Druze should convert to Islam.
Suwayda's three religious leaders—its sheikhs—have rejected al-Sharaa's proposed constitutional framework as too Islamic and unrepresentative. At least 30 people have been killed in and around Damascus in clashes between the Druze and al-Sharaa's forces. Fears over sectarian divisions have continued to grow as of May 2025.
In July 2025 an attack on a Druze merchant in Suwayda sparked clashes between Bedouin groups, Druze militias and Syrian government forces. Hundreds were killed when government-backed Sunni militias ran amok. Al-Sharaa sent troops ostensibly to enforce a ceasefire, but government forces carried out summary executions of Druze men and other atrocities, in attacks that recalled the massacre of hundreds of Alawites in March. Gunmen shaved off the moustaches of some Druze. A fragile truce ended the bloodshed on July 20th. Israel responded on July 16th by striking Damascus. Since the killings, Druze leaders have rejected government pleas to join the security forces. Some Druze militias now openly fly the Israeli flag; some are calling for secession.
The Druze are strongly represented in the Israeli army. In July 2025, as al-Sharaa's troops attacked Druze in Suwayda, Druze communities across northern Israel demanded their government come to the rescue. They blocked northern roads, broke through the border fence with Syria and secured a meeting with Binyamin Netanyahu, who agreed to intervene. However, the group's main political factions have also backed Hizbullah against Israel.
Walid Jumblatt, the Druze leader in Lebanon, whose father was assassinated by the Assads, rushed to embrace al-Sharaa after Damascus fell. He has warned that flirting with Israel would spell disaster for Syria's Druze, saying: "We cannot afford to alienate Muslims."
The early bird who catches the worm works for someone who comes in late and owns the worm farm.