A Hidden and Mysterious Order

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As a political force in modern Lebanon, the Druze were organized and galvanized by the magnetic Kamal Jumblatt, who was once described as "both rebel and statesman, mystic and politician." Three years after he joined parliament in 1946, Jumblatt formed the Progressive Socialist Party, and in the years that followed, he gave his committed support to the cause of Arab nationalism. By 1975 Jumblatt had founded the Lebanese National Movement and established himself as pre-eminent warlord of the Lebanese left. In the course of his political career, he ruled four ministries and helped to topple two Presidents. He also strongly opposed the entry of Syrian forces into Lebanon in 1976. When Jumblatt was assassinated in March 1977, the hereditary mantle fell to his son Walid, a mercurial, motorbike-riding young man usually seen in faded blue jeans and a leather jacket. Although Walid, 36, has remained true to his father's principles, many of his countrymen regard him as a weak-willed puppet. They especially distrust his wary alliance with the Syrians, who are widely believed to have engineered his father's murder. Nonetheless, the Druze wholeheartedly support their leader. Last December, as Walid recuperated from a second attempt on his life, crowds gathered outside the hospital. Their faithful chant: "With blood and spirit, we will sacrifice to you, O Walid!"