After al-Darazi's death (1020), Hamza declared himself to be the true manifestation of the Divine reality of al-Hakim. Hamza was successful in greater Syria, and a series of pastoral letters written at that time form the Druze scripture. Since the Druze religion was seen as an annulment of Islam, the hiding of the substance of the faith is a religious obligation, marriages outside the faith are forbidden, and initiation from lay status to clerical is restricted. The Druze formed territories that fought the Crusaders and secured considerable independence under stated Mamluk and Ottoman rule. In the 19th century, the rise of the Christian Maronites washed out Druze power in the Mount Lebanon region. The ensuing conflict scarred relations between the two communities and provided an opportunity for European intervention. After the end of the Ottoman sultanate and the founding of the French mandate in Syria (1920), the Druze leadership played a crucial role in moving and aiding the anti-French revolt (1925-27), after which an self-governing Druze state was created by the French in southern Syria. In 1944 the Druze agreed to surrender their autonomous rights in the Jebel Druz, as their section of Syria is called. Since then the Druze have been active in the political life of Syria, Lebanon, and Israel. Druze officers were noticeable in the history of Syria in the 1950s and 1960s. Walid Jumblatt and other Druze leaders took active roles during the Lebanese civil war. In Israel, the Druze were granted a "nationality status" distinct from the Arabic-speaking population, and are expected to serve in the Israeli army.
The Ismailis are a Muslim Shiite sect that holds Ismail, the son of Jafar as-Sadiq, as its imam. On the death of the sixth imam of the Shiites, Jafar as-Sadiq (d. 765), the majority of Shiites accepted Musa al-Kazim, the younger son of Jafar, as seventh imam. Those who remained faithful to Ismail, the eldest son, soon evolved the belief that Ismail was endowed with an infallible gift for interpreting the inner meaning of the revelation.
