Criticized at protest in Sweida, Joumblatt supported by Druze figures in Lebanon

From Sheikh Akl, Sami Abi al-Mona, to MP Wael Bou Faour, to the Union of the Municipalities of Haut-Metn (Baabda District), a front of support has formed around Druze leader Walid Joumblatt, who was targeted by comments on social media and criticized during a protest organized Saturday in the majority-Druze Syrian province of Sweida to denounce the intercommunal violence in July and demand self-determination. According to the Lebanese newspaper An-Nahar, protesters allegedly called the Lebanese Druze leader a "traitor" during a gathering on Aug. 16.

Located in southern Syria, Sweida has been the scene of deadly clashes between Druze factions and Sunni Bedouin fighters, who were allegedly supported by government forces, according to several accounts and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). According to the SOHR, the violence left about 1,600 dead, mostly Druze civilians.

The first Lebanese political leader to travel to Damascus to meet the new interim president Ahmadal-Sharaa after the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, Walid Joumblatt has always advocated for dialogue between all Syrian groups, and continues to show his support for the new Islamist authorities, rejecting any rapprochement with Israel, which claims to extend a hand to the Syrian Druze. These positions irritate some Syrian Druze circles who oppose the new authorities and call for cooperation with Israel. Within the Lebanese Druze community, Joumblatt’s positions do not have unanimous support.

Israeli flags in Sweida

On Saturday, some Syrian protesters held up Druze as well as Israeli flags, as the Israeli state, which hosts a significant Druze community, had bombed government positions during the clashes, asserting its intention to protect the minority. Contacted by L’Orient-Le Jour, a source within the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) emphasized that the Mukhtara leader has always opposed "the Israeli project of interference within the Druze community of Sweida."

A sign of the tensions, a video that had been posted online in December 2024, in which the former PSP chief called on the Druze "to return to Islam, their origin," resurfaced last weekend on social networks, sparking a series of hostile comments against Joumblatt, some going so far as to label him a "traitor ...Why are you meddling in the affairs of the Druze? Your game is over, and your speeches about plots no longer scare anyone. The only and final plot against the Druze is you," protested one internet user. "Walid Joumblatt the traitor: Expect him to accuse of treason everyone who broke the silence and stood up to him," added another. Joumblatt "is a threat to the Druze of Lebanon. He is now exposed and has fallen morally, politically, and as a leader. His role is finished ... don’t try to save him," said another user on the X network.

'Those who dared attack Walid Joumblatt are only a minority'

In response, Druze Sheikh Akl in Lebanon, Sami Abi al-Mona, known to be close to Joumblatt, explained Sunday in a statement picked up by the press that "our positions are far from betraying our history and our identity." He believes that "the religious, national and pan-Arab duty requires the wise of Sweida to oppose the project aiming to uproot the Arab and Islamic identity of the Druze," referring to the Israeli positions. However, for the Druze dignitary, "the new [Syrian] State has not proven its ability to protect its people and preserve its diversity." He concluded: "Jabal al-Arab [the Druze region in the Sweida province in Syria], like Mount Lebanon, is rich in its history and national heritage, and will accept as religion only Islam."

Coming to Joumblatt’s defense, the Union of the Municipalities of Haut-Metn denounced a "defamation campaign orchestrated by certain opportunists ... to promote projects of separation and isolation." It considers that the Druze leader’s stance follows "the continuity of the Druze community’s historical Arab and Islamic attachment. The Druze have never been anyone’s border guards."

As for Joumblattist MP Wael Bou Faour, he claims that "those who dared attack Walid Joumblatt ... are only a minority who sold their voices, wrapped themselves in the Israeli flag and renounced the mountain’s historical heritage."