[4] The Druze, who refer to themselves as al-Muwahhideen, or "believers in one God," are concentrated in the rural, mountainous areas east and south of Beirut.

[10] Under the terms of an unwritten agreement known as the National Pact between the various political and religious leaders of Lebanon, the Chief of the General Staff must be a Druze.

"[12]The Tanukhids inaugurated the Druze community in Lebanon when most of them accepted and adopted the new message that was being preached in the 11th century, due to their leadership's close ties with the Fatimid ruler Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah.

[27] The Druze have frequently experienced persecution by different Muslim regimes such as the Shia Fatimid Caliphate,[28] Sunni Ottoman Empire,[29] and Egypt Eyalet.

Before and during the Lebanese Civil War (1975–90), the Druze were predominantly in favor of Pan-Arabism and Palestinian resistance represented by the PLO.

He played an important role in preserving his father's legacy after winning the Mountain War and sustained the existence of the Druze community during the sectarian bloodshed that lasted until 1990.

The tumultuous reception that Sfeir received not only signified a historic reconciliation between Maronites and Druze, who fought a bloody war in 1983–84, but underscored the fact that the banner of Lebanese sovereignty had broad multi-confessional appeal.

He accused Damascus of being behind the 1977 assassination of his father, Kamal Jumblatt, expressing for the first time what many knew he privately suspected.

The BBC describes Jumblatt as "the smartest leader of Lebanon's most powerful Druze clan and heir to a leftist political dynasty".

[36] The clashes started in Aytat, near Kayfoun, and soon expanded to cover many spots in Mount Lebanon, including Baysur, Shuweifat and Aley.

[47][48] According to scholar Colbert C. Held of University of Nebraska, Lincoln, the number of Druze people worldwide is around one million, with about 45% to 50% in Syria, 35% to 40% in Lebanon, and less than 10% in Israel.

[57][58][59][18] Historian Ray Jabre Mouawad finds religious symbiosis between Druze and Christians in Mount Lebanon during the Ottoman period.

Numerous cultural interactions occurred in Mount Lebanon, producing overlapped symbolism, veneration of shared saints, and use of common words to designate God, the traces of which are discovered in the palaces and mausoleums of Druze lords, as well as in Maronite and Greek Orthodox churches.