Azerbaijani journalists met with Dr. Kasem Bader, a representative of the Druze community, during their visit to Israel. During the meeting, interesting information was shared about the religious beliefs of the Druze, the rules for joining the community, the belief in reincarnation, as well as the number of Druze living in Israel and other countries.
Modern.az's correspondent dispatched to Israel reports that Dr. Kasem Bader stated in his remarks to journalists that Druze is a closed religion and it is not possible for new followers to be accepted into this religion later:
"Druze is a closed religion, meaning its doors are closed. This means that no one can become a Druze. I can convert to Christianity, Islam, or Judaism, I can change my religion, but no one can enter this religion. This is a non-missionary faith that does not accept new followers." To belong to the Druze community, both parents must be Druze, which is one of the main conditions. The prophets decided that if you want to be a Druze, both your parents must be Druze. Yes, this is a closed religion, its doors are closed. The condition that both parents must be Druze makes it even more difficult."
Dr. Kasem Bader also spoke about reincarnation, one of the main beliefs of the Druze. According to him, in the Druze faith, it is believed that after the death of a Druze, the soul is reborn in the p of another Druze:
"From the 11th century until now, the number of Druze in the world has remained almost the same. This is because we strongly believe in reincarnation, that is, the transmigration of the soul into another p. We believe that when a Druze dies, their p dies, but their soul is reborn in the p of another Druze. This does not happen in the p of a Christian or a Muslim. According to the Druze faith, reincarnation only occurs within the community. We believe that reincarnation only happens among Druze: from Druze to another Druze, from man to man, from woman to woman. The soul of every man and woman who entered this religion in the 11th century remains within the community."
Dr. Kasem Bader stated that it is difficult to determine the exact number of Druze in the world.
“In some countries, community members do not openly express their religious identity. Today, we do not know exactly how many Druze there are in the world. The reason is that no census or survey has been conducted. Because there are places in the world where Druze do not identify themselves as Druze, they live their religion in secret. Approximately 2 million Druze live in the Middle East. There are 150,000 in Israel, 1 million in Syria, half a million in Lebanon, and 25,000 in Jordan. Approximately 2 million Druze live in the Middle East. We estimate that there are a total of about 2 million Druze in the world - in Europe, the USA, South America, and the Far East. These calculations cannot be taken as an exact figure. That is, we estimate that there are between 3 and 4 million Druze in the world. But perhaps this figure is 6 million or 10 million. We do not know the exact number."
