A meeting of the American Druze Society was held in Durango, Colorado, in 1987. Minister Abbas Halabi delivered a speech on behalf of the Permanent Office of Druze Institutions, which stated:
Honorable President of the American Druze Society,
Honorable branch directors and members of the society,
Esteemed gathering,
With pride and honor, I stand before this assembly to speak on behalf of the Permanent Office of Druze Institutions in Lebanon.
Greetings to you, my dear brothers and sisters, greetings to your flourishing society, and greetings to your conference, which has become a destination for the Druze monotheists (Al-Muwahhidun) who visit from various parts of the earth. This is due to the status your society has achieved in serving the members of the community in the United States, and its kind cooperation in serving the general goals of the Druze monotheists in Lebanon and abroad, especially during the years of the terrible ordeal that peaked in 1982, 1983, and 1984. We in Beirut were in near-daily contact with the society's officials, coordinating with them, appreciating their activities, and admiring their vitality. Those distinguished relations have been maintained over the following years, and they must continue in the future.
My brothers, God—our Mawla, for we have no master but Him—has willed that we attend this conference held in the city of Durango, in the state of Colorado, in this great and hospitable country. Brother Afif Khodor and Brother Ziad Hamadeh are here representing the Permanent Office, Brother Issam Makarem for the Social Welfare Foundation, and Brother Jihad Al-Zuhairi for His Excellency the leader Walid Jumblatt. Although I am attending this gathering for the first time, I am not a stranger to this activity; for my colleagues in the Druze Council for Research and Development and I have had the honor of cooperating with the American Druze Society and its counterparts in the world in calling for the World Druze Conference, which was scheduled for 1981. Following the tragedy of the Israeli invasion in 1982, the Permanent Office of Druze Institutions has made it a custom to send representatives annually to attend this conference. I am honored to be among you today and to be tasked with speaking on their behalf.
The idea of conferences has always been dear to our hearts because it represents a framework for meeting, dialogue, discussing problems, and reaching practical results, alongside basic axioms such as preserving relations between brothers, continuing friendship and affection, and passing them on to the new generations.
If your annual conference constitutes a model to be followed, our aspiration has always been to develop the institutional thought on sound foundations, so that all the living forces of the Druze monotheists are gathered within the framework of a permanent world conference, with a permanent general secretariat, and within an organizational structure that allows institutions, societies, associations, and living forces to express what is on their minds, in an effort to unite the word and the position across the entire world. As people of the Monotheist (Tawhid) faith, we have carried for a thousand years a trust upon our necks to preserve the religious, moral, and social principles called for by our ancestors, and we have been advised to practice consultation (Shura) and joint action.
And if the idea of the conference was hindered by some special circumstances not unknown to many of you at the time, despite the success of the first preparatory conference in February 1980, our constant endeavor is still aimed at establishing this idea on foundations that hindering circumstances cannot undermine.
Addressing the issues of the Druze diaspora in various parts of the earth is not a political issue, but a civilizational and social one. The Druze monotheists have no politics other than defending the Arab right in every field, and carrying its torches within conferences and associations, or on the individual levels as our history is replete with.
We see ourselves today facing a problem posed by the emerging circumstances of life. We are no longer a clan protecting Islamic frontiers from the Crusader raids, but rather a community spread across the world whose members must preserve their national and civilizational heritage in a way that does not conflict with the laws of the countries in which they have settled. We are no longer a closed group in our beliefs, despite the sublimity of those monotheistic beliefs; rather, we have become a group that must resist the challenges of the age and convey its ideas to the world in light of modern thought. This work cannot succeed except through collective institutional work, conscious democratic dialogue, and organized action.
The continued existence of the Druze monotheists in the East, and their ability—despite their small number—to achieve wonderful military and civilizational achievements over many long centuries, happened thanks to reliance on reason, logic, consultation, and a spirit of extraordinary sacrifice that cannot stem from ignorance or hesitation, but from faith in a determined right and adherence to an authentic Arabism that has always won the admiration of historians and poets. The military victories of the Druze monotheists in the battles of recent years were but an example of social cohesion from the top to the base.
Fellow brothers, and as we previously expected in speeches some of which were delivered at your previous conferences, the Druze monotheists have utilized their victories for the national and Lebanese interest, seeking to develop the Lebanese system and move it from a state of non-democratic domination to a more progressive state that adopts the aspirations of the citizens in a free, liberated homeland based on justice and equality. We have full confidence in the Druze leadership, held by the national leader Walid Jumblatt, to continue the struggle until this goal is achieved.
What draws us to your conference is the aspiration to see your society play a pioneering role in the field of framing institutional work at the level of the Druze monotheists in the world, spread across all corners of the earth. If we address our appeal to your conference to achieve this end, it is because your presence in this country, which is full of ideals of freedom and democracy, opens the way for freedom of speech and expression. Since this is the situation of this country, we undoubtedly look with much hope for your society to take the initiative without delay to reopen the files that the Druze Council for Research and Development had previously raised during the preparation for the World Druze Conference that was scheduled to be held in the summer of 1981. This Council, and subsequently the Permanent Office of Druze Institutions, has sought to develop these ideas.
The topics that should be given the necessary attention for discussion are:
- The religious file, which is concerned with making the creed accessible to the general public of the monotheists and not just the few, so that the Druze monotheists retain an identity amidst the circumstances in which they live.
- The historical file, which turns the history of the Druze monotheists into easy material that the rising generation can appreciate, making the deeds of fathers and ancestors lessons in heroism and martyrdom, and removing the injustice that some historians have inflicted upon the members of our faith as builders of the nation, its protectors, and a guaranteeing pillar for its existence and independence.
- The organizational file, to strive to frame the institutional work I mentioned earlier, through a permanent general secretariat that brings together associations, institutions, and societies in the motherland and the diaspora into one organized crucible to mobilize energies, facilitate communication, and confront enemies at home and abroad. To achieve this end, we hope that your conference will issue a recommendation to form a preparatory committee to prepare for this conference, specifying its objectives, agenda, and the proposed executive format.
– The economic-social file, which is what your brothers in the motherland have begun in their endeavor to face the effects of the harsh ordeal through institutions that took care of the families of the martyrs, the disabled, the wounded, and the sick.
From here, we urgently call upon you to decide on practical steps to support the Druze Foundation for Social Welfare, which represents in our view a bright hope in the dark night of Lebanon, aiming to help those affected by the effects of the prolonged Lebanese ordeal, and also to complete the project of the Druze community’s health institution in Ain Wazein.
- The cultural-media file, which is embodied daily by the Permanent Office of Druze Institutions in its confrontation with everything that is said and written through the daily monitoring and documentation of Lebanese, Arab, and global events. The Druze Council for Research and Development also works on this, sponsoring intellectual production by issuing books that light a shining lamp in our civilizational battle. From this platform, we call upon your conference to support the Permanent Office's fund so that it can pursue its mission with the momentum you desire.
- As for the political and military file, even if your society does not deal with it directly, every one of you has, on a personal level, an important role in supporting the political and military position with the capabilities available to you—not only on the material level, but especially on the level of explaining the general Druze position, which is consistent with the unified Islamic position and meets with all national forces under the leadership of Walid Jumblatt and the Progressive Socialist Party. Nothing is more indicative of the importance of this subject than the repeated visits made by Mr. Walid Jumblatt and the multiple communications with you, as individuals and as a society, and what the Permanent Office has demanded of you time and again, in seeking to find an advanced formula for action that takes into account the capabilities available to you within the laws and regulations that govern your existence, and the tasks placed upon your shoulders as Druze monotheist citizens who are directly concerned with what is happening in your motherland. From here, we demand that your society respond to every endeavor undertaken by the Druze leadership, not to spare you effort, but to frame your work within a formula that realizes the hopes placed upon you and the capabilities available to you through the contacts you can make in the first capital of international decision-making, regarding the situation of your brothers in the motherland and the impact of that on your future and the future of your children.
On the other hand, and having been informed today, and in your previous conferences, of the religious concerns you face in preserving your identity, and that you have opened the door for discussion for many religious opinions and interpretations coming to you from abroad and from among yourselves, we firmly believe that free discussion must allow for the crystallization of ideas. However, a subject of such importance cannot be decided individually by any person or body, no matter how high their status may be in the motherland or the diaspora; rather, it is decided through a specific ecumenical format that allows for the unification of religious concepts and puts an end to personal interpretations, because any work not organized within these ideas adds a schismatic dimension to our situation, and this is what none of us intends, God forbid. Therefore, we ask you to remain cooperative, engaged in dialogue, receptive to any endeavor, and to keep matters within their limited scope until the time comes to prepare for this ecumenical format, which alone has the right to develop and unify concepts.
Fellow brothers, unity is our goal and union is our guide. The children of Ma'ruf (Bani Ma'ruf) have never attacked anyone; rather, they are always and forever a thorn in the eyes of their enemies and a dagger thrust into their side. The war they fought—and for which your righteous martyred brothers paid the price with their lives, youth, and future so that you might have a homeland and your community might have dignity—was in defense of the self and for the preservation of land and honor.
Oh brothers, if our talk has been long, it is because our affairs and concerns require us to seize all opportunities to clarify our position in your motherland, which still groans under the weight of being preoccupied with defending itself, forgetting—even temporarily—all aspects of normal civil life that you enjoy in this great country, which is a beacon of ideals of freedom, democracy, and justice, even if these ideals are not practiced in our Middle Eastern region. It is our certainty that Lebanon must eventually emerge victorious over all the obstacles that limit its ambition, progress, and democratic development. And if it is always the case for homelands to rise again from the ashes like a phoenix, it is because there are men in your homeland who, if they will, God wills, and God is behind the intent. Peace be upon you, and the mercy and blessings of God.
Reference: Book "Al-Muwahhidun Al-Druze: Culture, History, and Message" – Abbas Halabi
