[Today's Prayer] Amid the Reshaping of the Middle Eastern Landscape, the Syrian Druze Minority Caught in Bloodshed

With Israel's intervention in Syria under the guise of "protecting the Druze" amidst sectarian bloodshed in Syria, attention is now focused on the identity of this minority group with an unfamiliar name.

According to the New York Times (NYT) on the 18th (local time), the Druze are a people scattered across Syria, Lebanon, and Israel.

While they split from Shiite Islam, they do not define themselves as Muslims, maintaining a unique sect with distinct identity and doctrine.

Though they are a closed-off community, they prioritize practicality and self-preservation, remaining loyal to the country they reside in.

In Israel, the Druze are required to serve in the military, and many have risen to high-ranking positions in both the military and government. Israel's involvement in Syria under the pretext of "Druze protection" is not unrelated to this background.

However, the Druze community’s position within Syria is unstable.

While more than half of the world's approximately 1 million Druze live in Syria, they have refused to come under government control since the regime of Bashar al-Assad. Instead, they have maintained their autonomy by forming local militias, primarily based in Sweida, the largest Druze settlement in Syria.

But the new regime led by Ahmad al-Shara has attempted to control the armed groups remaining since the civil war, placing the Druze community under pressure.

The situation worsened when clashes broke out between the Druze and Bedouin tribes in Sweida.

Syria's government forces were deployed to suppress the conflict, but even the government forces clashed with the Druze, raising suspicions that the government forces were oppressing them.

The death toll from the clashes in Sweida reached 718.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), 146 Druze fighters and 245 civilians were among the dead, with 165 of the victims allegedly executed by the Syrian government.

(Excerpt)

As Syria and Israel reached a ceasefire agreement, the clashes between the two sides seem to have temporarily come to an end.

However, NYT analyzes that the political upheaval in Syria and Israel's increasingly resolute regional stance may expose the Druze to new pressures.

Source: Yonhap News

"When the Israelites cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for them, who saved them—Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother." (Judges 3:9)

In the ever-changing situation of the Middle East, we hear the tragic news of the death of 718 Druze and Syrian government soldiers in the conflict in the Sweida region of Syria.

Lord, please visit the bereaved families and the Druze people to comfort them and bring them to those who can deliver the true peace of the Lord. Pour out the hope of God's Kingdom, unbound by this world, upon this land, and may the Druze people be clothed with the authority to become children of God through the grace of Jesus Christ.

Though the Druze are scattered across Syria, Lebanon, and Israel, living with a distinct identity, may Jesus Christ become their Savior and make them a people faithful to the Kingdom of God.

Even during the Assad regime, the Druze pursued an independent path. Now, with the new regime attempting to impose control, clashes between the Druze and Bedouins have occurred. Furthermore, as government forces deployed to suppress the conflict even clashed with the Druze, there are suspicions of oppression by the government forces. Lord, may You reign as the true ruler of the Druze.

For this, may the churches of the world, and those in Syria and Israel, pray for the Druze and proclaim the Gospel, so that the Druze may hear the Gospel and return to the Lord.

Thus, may the Druze, scattered across the Arab world, spread the Gospel and prepare the way for the Lord's return to all the nations!