Imam In Israel Refuses To Give Dead Israeli Druze Soldier Last Rites
by Maha Abdel Hadi
JERUSALEM (IslamOnline) - Israeli religious authorities are placing a mosque imam under interrogation after he refused to perform funeral prayers on a member of Israel’s Druze community who served in the Israeli army.
The solider was killed earlier this week in an ambush by the Hezbollah resistance group in the disputed Shabaa farms region near the Israeli-Lebanese border.
“Israel pays this Imam’s salary,” said Shamoel Holander, a spokesman for the State Affairs Authority, an official body that monitors religious affairs in Israel. “His refusal to perform prayers is a very serious matter. He will be questioned before a disciplinary committee.”
The Imam’s name is unknown. But several other Muslim preachers have previously refused to perform funeral prayers on members of the Druze community who serve in the Israeli army.
The Druze community claim they are Muslim, but several Muslim groups say they are not. The Druze is a religious community residing mostly in mountainous areas of Israel, Syria and Lebanon. Their leaders say there are 90,000 Druze in the Middle East.
The origin of the Druze is largely from a Shiite group, the Isma'ilis, but they have diverged much from both traditions. Some observers note that it does not seem as if the Qur’an remains a part of their religion. They also call themselves muwahhidun, “monotheists”
The theology of Druze religion is called hikma and its main theme is that God incarnated himself in the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim, who disappeared in Egypt in 1021. While most Muslims believe he died in 1021, the Druze disagree and believe that al-Hakim is waiting to return to the world in order to bring a new golden age to true believers.
The Druze believe in one God and claim that the qualities of God cannot be understood or defined by humans. Al-Hakim is worshiped in Druze religion, he is called “Our Lord” and his cruelties and eccentricities are all interpreted symbolically.
The Druze are also known for their strong allegiance to the state of Israel and many young Druze work for the Israeli army.
