Sheikh Hikmat Salman Al-Hajari, the spiritual leader of the Unitarian Druze, issued a statement on the occasion of the first anniversary of the July massacres committed against the Druze community in As-Suwayda, southern Syria. In it, he addressed the milestones of struggle and the challenges faced by the Druze community over the past year, affirming their steadfast adherence to truth and freedom.
Full text of the statement:
Sheikh
Hikmat Salman Al-Hajari
Spiritual Leader
of the Unitarian Druze
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Peace be upon you, and God’s mercy and blessings… To proceed:
Dear family, honorable ones in the nations of the world… We address you with the call of the patient, the steadfast, the persevering in seeking truth, and in declaring authenticity and the strength of belonging. To begin, we pray for mercy for our sons and daughters who were martyred at the hands of treacherous terrorist gangs, and we pray for a swift recovery for our wounded and all those afflicted…
Honorable free people…
Around this time of year, we passed through the Black July of 2025. Over the course of a full week, we were subjected to treacherous massacres, genocidal invasion, and we suffered sudden horrors. We lived through a difficult nightmare and an experience unprecedented in history… And this anniversary will remain each year, with insistence on uprooting pain, to stand among the chapters of human suffering that peoples have endured.
Because it was an ordeal with which God tested us, through which we came to know the truthful from the liars, uncovered enemies from friends, and realized the reality we are in, as well as the intentions and deeds of all those who lie in wait for us. This was to unveil all those who falsified the pages of history, and all those who denied our sacrifices, our patriotism, our contributions, our protections, and our firm and sincere stances that protected, liberated, triumphed, and declared the truth. This has returned us today to our true places throughout history, by our own free, authentic will of belonging, not by the will of anyone else.
Our enemies… are the treacherous terrorists, those who, no matter how much they wear modern suits, their baseness, their natures, and their lack of morals will prevail. And no matter how much they cloak themselves in religion, it will not avail them, because religion is innocent of them, and their actions are satanic, far removed from morals, principles, customs, and all divine laws… There is no security or safety in the shadows of devils. So no matter how much they try to hide behind the colors of civilization, their ideas, actions, and their clear, documented history expose them—along with their conviction records and their black pages spread throughout international court registers, even if retribution against them is temporarily ignored…
Honorable ones…
We have suffered what we detested and warned against—massacres that are still ongoing, a lack of security, occupation of homes, attempts at genocide and demographic change, siege, atrocity, violations of sanctities, and attacks through the suspension of schools and exams under false pretexts. For the advocates of ignorance know that every academic certificate in our homes is a weapon and a banner, and we will continue to pursue it according to proper principles, whether internally or externally… The terrorist authorities also proceeded to suspend and halt the judiciary and litigation under demeaning pretexts, instigated the kidnapping of innocent civilians and children, and continued to tighten the screws on livelihoods and attempts at humiliation, exploiting and breaching the trust of the weak-willed and the hungry. Nor were they content with that—the latest was just yesterday, when they sent cars packed with huge quantities of explosives, with the intention of killing the largest number of civilians and terrorizing the residents. But our free, authentic, awakened, and dignified people refuse humiliation and insist always on continuing the pursuit of the desired, uncurtailed freedom…
Our dear people in the lands of Mount Bashan…
The aggressions against the components of society and national and social cohesion have not stopped, and you are overcoming all ordeals. History records this stand for you over the course of a full year as a Unitarian Druze people with deep civilizational roots. In every environment there are corrupt individuals who represent only themselves, regardless of their affiliation. The wrongdoer is held accountable by his own name, apart from his family affiliation, because our families are all authenticity, purity, and nobility, and they themselves reject and remove the dust. We affirm the uprooting of these corrupt individuals and their accountability, and we condemn all those who commit these reckless acts, which were more deadly than the perpetration of massacres against innocents. Everyone is clear and exposed—the same faces and names, both inside and outside, try to breach us, playing the same roles under new labels they renew according to what their shallow imaginations perceive from circumstances. Despite all these campaigns to break our will, the honorable ones among our sons, bearers of the banner of struggle, are the vast majority. We are in a time when we need mutual support, continued fraternity, cooperation, and honesty. We always need one another, and we strengthen each other on the paths of freedom, liberation, and emancipation…
Our land and our occupied villages are ours, and we will restore them, God willing. Our detainees—the very fruits of our hearts—their freedom is our goal. Our mountain is our authenticity, with everything in it. Let us preserve it, its principles, its elders, and its honorable authentic people, so that it may illuminate the path for our coming generations, to give them what we have been denied.
Our concern today is belonging to Mount Bashan and its authentic components, to the Unitarian faith, to freedom from all constraints, and to launch forward away from extremism and rigidity, so that we remain as we are, and so that victory remains our ally. Today, we are in the process of building our institutions on all levels, and it is our duty to support them in order to establish law and justice among all segments of society. Moreover, these institutions are the ones that will lay the first foundation for the constructive democratic institutions we aspire to.
Honorable ones…
We are passing through challenges and stumbling blocks, and failed attempts at suppression. Looking at the history of peoples who struggled until they reached what they aspired to in terms of freedom and security for their children, what we are going through is a natural transitional phase towards what we aspire to, according to a humane approach and safe, civilized international standards. Our people are competent, and our sons are diligent.
On this painful anniversary (Black July Week), we express our gratitude to our people and brothers in the State of Israel, and to the Israeli government, which saved us from the calamity of treacherous genocide and stood by us after everyone in whom we had planted hope abandoned us…
Nor do we forget to salute our loyal expatriate sons, both individuals and groups, who mobilized to convey images of the massacres and present facts and demands to the nations of the world, international bodies, and free people everywhere.
And all thanks to every international body whose decisions and follow-ups had a beautiful effect that healed some of the wounds.
And continued thanks, with pride, to our men and our youth who stood and still stand on the fronts—brave, strong protectors with valor and daring, defending their people, their land, and their dignity…
And from God we seek help. Peace be upon you from the spirit of peace in blessed Mount Bashan…
Mount Bashan – Qanawat
10 / 7 / 2026
Note: This text is translated from the original Arabic version… Read the Arabic version:Click here
