The Role Of Reincarnation In The Druze Religion

Christianity, Muslim, and Judaism are well-known religions. However, people are less familiar with the smaller branches that were once born from these large religions. Some branches remain attached to their main religion while other branches grow far from their origin and stand as a completely separate creed with their own principles. For example, Druze is a monotheistic religion that diverged from the Muslim religion many years ago due to their major differences. There are around one million Druzes around the world. Mostly in the areas of Lebanon, Syria, and Israel, each country having a Druze percentage of forty, fifty, and seventy respectively. One facet that makes the Druze religion unlike other religions is the belief in reincarnation

There are three interesting aspects of reincarnation in the Druze Religion: its history, its believers’ perspectives, and its role in Judgement Day. The Druze became their own religion all the way back in Egypt around the eleventh-century, but the idea of reincarnation did not become mutual upon the people until a couple of hundred years ago; and the history of reincarnation spiraled ever since. In fact, by the 1980’s there were approximately 77 occurrences of reincarnation. The speculations actually began after some old illustrative stories that were passed down. One of these stories was about a women named Amal whose mother had passed away. It was not until five years after her passing that rumors in her small town began to quickly spread. Rumors that in a near town a small girl who constantly would tell her parents that she has a daughter named Amal who she left at a young age, and who needs to be taken care immediately. Amal, however, did not confront this little girl who was her mom because reincarnation, at that time, was not a very accepted thought. Another

Strangely enough, not all Druze people remember these past life; which is a frequently asked question among outsiders. Only some are capable of doing so and those who do are called natiq in Arabic. However, this is not seen as a blessing among the Druze society because it is difficult for one to live in the presence of two lives. From observation, the Druze say that it is usually those who die tragically or unexpected in their past life that are able to picture scenes from the event and even some family members’ names. This is why they say that when a calm Druze baby is born and he/she sleep the majority of the time, his/her parents say that their baby died as a peaceful elder in their previous life. And vice versa. Individuals begin to give hints about their past life as early as three or four years old. This story gives many goosebumps. Moreover, the Druze believe that reincarnation is the reason why our population actually does not increase or decrease in size. Druze back this fact up by stating that each second that an individual passes away is the second that another person is born; which is how the reincarnation process goes. Also, due to reincarnation the Druze religion sees life as never ending, in terms of the soul’s life span. The body is seen as a simple suit case that