Druze ethics center on truthfulness among the brethren, mutual protection, and renunciation of prior beliefs. The most-discussed principle from outside is taqiyya — permitted concealment of the faith under threat — which is not regarded as hypocrisy but as survival doctrine for a small community that has been persecuted repeatedly across a thousand years. In practice it has also meant loyalty to whatever state the community lives in, which is why Druze serve in the armies of Lebanon, Syria, and Israel alike.