In 1786, while serving as an Ambassador for the new United States, Jefferson asked Tripoli’s Ambassador to Great Britain what right the Barbary states had that allowed them to kidnap and slaughter the innocent crews of passing merchant ships. According to Jefferson, Sidi Haji Abdul Rahman Adja replied that Islam “was founded on the Laws of their Prophet, that it was written in their Qur’an, that all nations who should not have acknowledged their authority were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon them wherever they could be found, and to make slaves of all they could take as Prisoners, and that every Musselman [Muslim] who should be slain in battle was sure to go to Paradise.” In essence, the Ambassador from Tripoli stated that their religion, Islam, gave them the right to kidnap and murder and enslave those who held different beliefs. Jefferson took this information to heart and remembered it well. He also spent time studying the Koran himself, to gain a better understanding of the enemy his young nation was facing.
Posted on: Sat, 24 Jan 2015 06:26:41 +0000