Cultural aspects in Christian and Islamic religions - unesdoc - Unesco

Compound of Khalwat al-Bayyada – Hasbayya
Khalwat
Khalwat (Unitarian Druze houses of prayer) used
by Druze are originally mosques. In the biography
of the Emir al-Sayyid Abdallah Tannukhi, it is said
that he ordered the construction of mosques in
villages and the holding of sermons every Friday.
Some mosques still attest to this, among which: the
Fakhruddin ‘Uthman Mosque in the center of Dayr
al-Qamar; the Mosque of Qaa’ in the Bekaa and
Barani in Sidon, both built by Emir Fakhruddin the
Second; the Mosque of Emir Mundhir ibn Sulayman
Tannukhi built in Beirut adjacent to the area known
as Bab Idriss. ‘The path of Tawhid’ for the Unitarian
Druze has imposed a ‘God-fearing’ aspect to their
places of worship known as ‘Khalwat’. Its form for
the Druze Knowledgeable Initiates (‘uqqal) is not
linked with an architecture heading towards the
great outer sky, but rather related to ‘the inner
concept’. All attempts are made to surround this
concept with quietude; it is enlightened and
nourished with the core essence of meaning in
order to have certainty of what God the Almighty
commands through true human existence.
This is why Khalwat are found in remote places,
far from the hustle and bustle – as urban flow has
overcome most places without leaving any quiet,
‘un-colonized’ spot. The architecture of Khalwat is
quite simple and limited to what is necessary for
prayer that may fathom the depths of the soul and
not the rest of the body, in the ultimate meaning
of Tawhid.
The Druze initiates gather in Khalwat to study
and to exercise the soul in the fields of meaning.
People gather on Thursday evening, every week,
on religious holidays (especially Adha, Fitr, Hegira
New Year), and special occasions (the coming of
delegations from other regions, or an invitation
to discuss a matter of great importance, etc.). The
major khalwat are: Al-Bayyada in Hasbayya, al-
Qatalib in Shuf, and al-Zanbaqiyyah near Baruk.
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