"Between Bāṭin and Sharīʿa: The Druze as Ghulāt in Formative Shiism" by Wissam H. Halawi

In this presentation, Wissam H. Halawi situates Druze doctrine within the long-running tension between esoteric knowledge and legal normativity in early Shi'ism. Rather than a radical break, he argues the Druze intensify existing ghulāt dynamics — hierarchical knowledge, a divinized guiding figure, and the suspension of exoteric law — reframing them as a distinct legal school.