Muslim families in Nablus descend from the Samaritans

Several famous families in Nablus, such as the Shakhsheer, Yaish, and Maslamany families, were once Samaritan. They changed religion and became Muslim during the Ottoman period, which the Samaritans describe as the worst era of their modern history. This conversion phenomenon led to a progressive decline of the community, which numbered only one hundred thirty-two individuals in Damascus in 1596.