Can Druze marry non-Druze?

Druze religious tradition expects marriage inside the community, and many families hold to that firmly. Some Druze do marry outside it, but it can mean hard conversations at home. It's a personal and family decision.

Is there a Druze dating app?

We don't know of a big app made only for Druze. On HeyArab you can pick Druze as your religion, filter for Druze singles, and turn on a dealbreaker so you only see each other.

Where do Druze singles meet in the US?

Many meet through family, through local Druze groups, or at the American Druze Society convention. Apps help when the nearest Druze single lives a few states away.

Do I have to show my religion on HeyArab?

No. Religion is optional. You can leave it off your profile, or add it and use the filter.

Druze dating in the US and Canada

HeyArab, Editorial teamUpdated Oct 28, 20262 min read

A long dinner table full of small plates, a salad bowl, a stack of bread and a jug, with chairs around it

Druze dating outside Lebanon and Syria comes down to one problem: there aren't many of you, and you're spread out. Most Druze families want you to marry inside the community, so who you meet matters. Here's how Druze singles find each other here, and what an app can and can't do about it.

Why Druze dating is different

There are about a million and a half Druze in the world, and most live in Lebanon and Syria. The faith hasn't accepted converts for close to a thousand years, so the community only grows through families. That's why marrying inside it matters so much to so many parents.

Abroad, the numbers get small fast. Gulf News put the Druze population in the US at about 30,000 in 2018, with the biggest group in Southern California. Spread that across a whole continent and the hard part isn't what to say on a first date. It's finding someone Druze to have one with.

How Druze singles meet abroad

Most people still meet the old ways:

Family. An aunt knows someone whose son just moved to your city. This still works.
Community groups. Local Druze groups often hold dinners and holiday events.
The convention. The American Druze Society holds a yearly convention, and many young Druze go hoping to meet someone there.

The catch is that all of this runs on who your family knows, and on being in the right place a few times a year.

Finding Druze singles on an app

An app can widen the circle beyond who your family knows. On HeyArab:

Pick Druze as your religion. It's one of the options, next to Muslim, Christian, Jewish, other and prefer not to say. It's optional.
Filter for Druze singles. By default the filter is soft, so Druze people show up first and everyone else after.
Turn on the dealbreaker if marrying inside the community matters to you. Then you only see people in your filter, and people outside it don't see you.
Say how involved your family is, from involved early to private until it's serious.

Privacy in a small community

In a community this size, everyone knows someone who knows you. That cuts both ways. It's how families vet a match, and it's why a lot of people don't want to be seen on a dating app at all.

On HeyArab you can block people from your phone contacts, like a cousin, a coworker or your ex, so you won't see each other. They're never told. Friends can also vouch for you with a few lines you approve, which is a little like the old way of someone putting in a good word.

Talking to your family

If you're dating someone who isn't Druze, or your family doesn't know you're dating yet, the conversation at home is often the hardest part. We wrote about dating across sects and how to tell Arab parents you're dating. Both may help.

Druze dating in Lebanese and Syrian families

Most Druze families abroad have roots in Lebanon or Syria, so a lot of what we say about Lebanese singles and Syrian singles applies too. The food, the dialect, the aunts who want to know everything.