"We Are All Druze and Must Help Each Other" – Sheikh Who Predicted the Syrian Massacre
In a prophetic interview, Druze Sheikh Riyad Hamza warned of a looming disaster in Syria. Now, after a brutal massacre of Druze civilians, his words take on haunting new meaning.
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In the wake of a horrifying massacre in Syria, where Islamist militias butchered hundreds of innocent Druze civilians, one voice from the past echoes louder than ever. It was during a quiet visit to Nabi El Khadr in the village of Yassif that Israeli journalist Yisrael Shapira sat down with Sheikh Riyad Hamza, a senior Druze religious leader, who at the time shared a warning that now feels chillingly prophetic.
Back then, the tone was already somber. As they sat near the sacred site believed to be tied to the prophet Elijah, Sheikh Hamza opened up about the vulnerability of his people. The Druze, he explained, are one people spread across different borders - Israel, Syria, Lebanon - sharing faith, culture, and identity, but often torn apart by politics and war. When asked if he had family in Syria, he nodded with a sigh: “Of course, in Syria and Lebanon. And I think you're really asking - how can we be fighting one another?” His answer was simple, painful, and real: “I defend my land, and they defend theirs.”
That’s when he made a statement that now feels like it should have shaken the world back then. “We are all Druze, and we must help one another,” he said. He admitted that efforts were being made quietly - sending aid, offering support in discreet ways. But what struck Shapira most was the Sheikh’s calm clarity: “If we must fight for them, we will.”
And now, with the world watching in silence as Druze villages in Syria burn and their residents are slaughtered, those words take on a new gravity. Reports even suggest that over a thousand Druze have already crossed the border to defend their people. This wasn’t just a warning - it was a promise.
The Sheikh also pointed out the internal divide among Syrian Druze - some aligned with Assad’s regime out of political self-interest, others resisting out of principle, unwilling to be ruled both politically and religiously by a government they don’t trust. “Those who support the regime do it because they want power, titles, to become ministers,” he said. “But the others… they simply refuse to surrender their values.”
He didn’t hesitate to remind us of the Druze history of resistance. “We fought the Ottoman Empire - and we won. In Syria, we fought the French Mandate - and we prevailed. The Druze are not weak.”
Publishing that conversation today, in the shadow of another atrocity, it’s clear that Sheikh Hamza was not just speaking truth - he was speaking from a place of urgency that far too few truly heard. The massacre in Syria is not just another footnote in a long conflict - it’s a stark reminder of what happens when the world turns its back on vulnerable communities. It reminds us too much of October 7. And it reminds us that solidarity among a scattered people is not just an ideal, it’s a lifeline.