“Whoever desires to assure himself that there now exists a religion which has baffled, for centuries, the impudent inquisitiveness of missionaries, and the persevering inquiry of science, let him violate, if he can, the seclusion of the Syrian Druzes. He will find them numbering over 80,000 warriors, scattered from the plain east of Damascus to the western coast. They covet no proselytes, shun notoriety, keep friendly – as far as possible – with both Christians and Mahometans, respect the religion of every other sect or people, but will never disclose their own secrets. Vainly do the missionaries stigmatize them as infidels, idolaters, brigands, and thieves. Neither threat, bribe, nor any other consideration will induce a Druze to become a convert to dogmatic Christianity.
We have heard of two in fifty years, and both have finished their careers in prison, for drunkenness and theft. They proved to be “real Druzes”, said one of their chiefs, in discussing the subject. There never was a case of an initiated Druze becoming a Christian. As to the uninitiated, they are never allowed to even see the sacred writings, and none of them have the remotest idea where these are kept. There are missionaries in Syria who boast of having in their possession a few copies. The volumes alleged to be the correct expositions from these secret books (such as the translation by Petis de la Croix, in 1701, from the works presented by Nasr-Allah to the French king), are nothing more than a compilation of “secrets”, known more or less to every inhabitant of the southern ranges of Lebanon and Anti-Libanus. They were the work of an apostate Dervish, who was expelled from the sect Hanafi, for improper conduct – the embezzlement of the money of widows and orphans.
The Exposé de la Religion des Druzes, in two volumes, by Sylvestre de Sacy (1828), is another network of hypothesis. A copy of this work was to be found, in 1870, on the windowsill of one of their principal Holowey, or place of religious meeting. To the inquisitive question of an Englisg traveler, as to their rites, the Okhal, a venerable old man, who spoke English as well as French, opened the volume of de Sacy, and offering it to his interlocutor, remarked, with a benevolent smile:
“Read this instructive, and truthful book; I could explain to you neither better nor more correctly the secrets of God and our blessed Hamsa, than it does.” The traveler understood the hint. Mackenzie says they settled at Lebanon about the tenth century, and “seem to be a mixture of Kurds, Mardi-Arabs, and other semi-civilized tribes. Their religion is compounded of Judaism, Christianity, Mahometanism. They have a regular order of priesthood and a kind of hierarchy … there is a regular system of passwords and signs. Twelve months’ probation, to which either sex is admitted, preceded initiation.”
We quote the above only to show how little even persons as trustworthy as Mr. Mackenzie, really know of these mystics.” Mosheim, who knows as much, or we should rather say as little, as any others, is entitled to the merit of candidly admitting that “their religion is peculiar to themselves and is involved in some mystery.” We should say it was, rather!”
H. P. Blavatsky
The Mark Of God: Understanding Your "I AM Presence" 