The History of the Druze in America, which I wrote in 1996, also appears on the American Druze Society web site, (www.druze.com), as well as in the 1996 Year Book of The Heritage, the official publication of the American Druze Society.  This work was done to honor the 50th anniversary of the American Druze Society in July 1996 at the Renaissance Hotel in Detroit, Michigan.  The article “The History of the Druze in America” is also included on this website (American Druze Heritage.com). I have, however, updated the Convention history to include through the year 2005.
History of the Druze in America Synoptic Outline
The inflow of the Druze immigrants increased in the beginning of the 20th century. America was the melting pot of various cultures and traditions. It was essential for the Druze to sustain their identity, culture and faith. The ingenuity of the Druze in this respect has been the driving force for their survival and their history in America. Therefore, early Druze settlers established a system and an organization which was designed to protect the Druze identity, culture, faith as well to serve the Druze brethren in the highest traditions of “Bani Marouf.” These concepts and undercurrents caused the creation of the first Druze organization in America in 1908.

This organization extended itself in different states where Druze habitats were established. The movement helped make a family of the Druze families in America and brought them closer to each other. Within their meager means, they served the cause of the community and the faith. It was in 1947 when the American born Druze were encouraged to take over the leadership of the Druze community in America. They expanded the concept, system and organization which could not only sustain the Druze identity, culture and faith, but also provide grounds for development and extension of the same on national level.

The results of such movement and encouragement to the American born Druze created a tradition of a yearly convention. An informal but strong organization which adopted the name and style “American Druze Society” was thus born. In 1962, the American Druze Society could work out a Constitution and Bylaws which provided the foundation for further development of the organizational structure of the Druze community in America.
For more information: www.druze.com