New Delhi, July 19 -- The Druze religious sect, enmeshed in an outbreak of tit-for-tat violence in Syria, began roughly 1,000 years ago as an offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam.

Most Druze religious practices are shrouded in secrecy, with outsiders not allowed to convert and intermarriage strongly discouraged.

More than half the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most of the other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981.

Here's a look at the Druze sect:

The principles Druze live by

A core social doctrine for Druze is defending their brothers, meaning defending one another, said Makram Rabah, assistant prof...