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Atrash was born 3 February 1925 in the Druze community of al-Qurayya in Jabal al-Druze (Jabal al-Arab), months before the Great Syrian Revolt, which was launched and led by his father Sultan al-Atrash. At the time, the Jabal al-Druze area constituted an autonomous zone (existing between 1922 and 1936) within the French Mandate of Syria (established in 1920). Tensions between the Druze and the French authorities stemmed from a number of reasons, particularly what the local Druze leaders saw as French encroachment into their domestic affairs and self-governance. The revolt began in the summer of 1925 and had soon spread throughout Syria, ending with the military defeat of Syrian rebels in 1927 and the self-imposed exile of Sultan to Transjordan after the Mandatory authorities issued a warrant for his arrest. He returned in 1937 after being pardoned by the authorities.