Mr. President, Do You Have Any Clue As To WHY Thomas Jefferson Kept A Copy Of The Koran?

During his recent tour of the Mid-East, President Obama made many inaccurate references as to the place of Islam in the history of modern civilization.

The fact that the majority of them were incorrect seemed to be a moot point, as the apparent point of the trip appeared to be for the President to apologize for America being such an evil country, and that now that he is in charge, American and Islamic cultures can live in peace and harmony.

And among his many miscues made in the hope of getting radical Islamists to lay down their arms and give all of America a group hug, he did get one thing right.

The fact that Thomas Jefferson kept a copy of the Koran (Qur’an) in his Presidential library.

Allah only knows why Mr. Obama would cite Jefferson’s ownership of the Koran as an attempt to show solidarity between America and the Muslim world.

Well Mr. President, I’m not quite sure how to break this news to you, but Thomas Jefferson did not have a copy of the holy book of Islam in order to learn more of the various religions of the world.

He kept it for reference!

As in an effort to learn more about his, and America’s, foes.

President Obama, as do most American’s, believe that our battle against radical Islam began with the attacks of 9-11, or perhaps with the first World Trade Center bombing.

Mr President, as you do with so many other things, once again you have the wrong idea.
This country has been fighting the fanatics who have perverted the teachings of the holy book of Islam since the time Jefferson was President, hence his ownership of the book.

For over a thousand years, Muslim pirates traveled along the coastline of Africa seizing women and young boys to sell off to slave traders.

This became a concern for America shortly after our country came into being, as after the Revolutionary War, what were now American merchant ships no longer had the protection of the Royal Navy.

Muslim pirates, under the control of an Islamist warlord who ruled Algiers, began attacking American merchant ships and enslaving their Christian crews.

These actions were leading to the the destruction of American trade in the Mediterranean, so in 1784 the Continental Congress attempted to negotiate a treaty with the four Barbary Coast States, and formed a panel with Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin as members to carry out negotiations.

John Adams held the belief that paying tribute to the pirates was the simplest way to restore the safe passage of the merchant ships. (Obama also totally twisted Adam’s statements during his speech as a means to achieving his own ends. Hope and Change is one thing, the truth is for suckers in Obama’s world.)

Jefferson,  fearing that there would be no end to the demands for tribute, disagreed, and wanted matters settled by military force.

In a negotiating session, Jefferson and Adams questioned the Algerian ambassador as to the reasons behind such hostile actions towards the United States, when there had been no previous contact between America and the Muslim world.

They received the following reply:

“Islam was founded on the laws of their Prophet, that it was written in the Quran that all nations that did not acknowledge it’s authority were sinners,that it was the right and duty of all Muslims to make war upon them wherever they could be found,
and to make slaves of all they could take as prisoners, and that every Muslim who should be slain in battle was sure to go to Paradise.”

Where have we heard that before?

Jefferson’s recommendation of the use of force to end the piracy did not prevail, and for the next 15 years the American government paid the Muslims millions of dollars to ensure the safe passage of ships and as ransom for captured crews.

Jefferson was proven correct when he had said that the amount of money demanded would be ever-increasing, by the year 1800 the amount being paid out came to nearly 20 percent of the revenue the American government was taking in.

All of that was about to change.

Shortly after his inauguration as President, Jefferson declared that the United States would spend “Millions for defense but not one cent for tribute”, and informed Congress that he was dispatching American warships, along with a force of U.S. Marines to the Muslim Barbary Coast.

Intense naval bombardment, as well as shore raids by the Marines began to take their toll on the pirate havens.

The end of Muslim piracy was sealed when the U.S. Marines marched across the Egyptian dessert into Tripolitania, leading to the surrender of Tripoli.

This military action was the origin of the immortal verse in the Marine Corps hymn “From the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli…”

Jefferson knew that the majority of the followers of the Muslim faith were a peaceful people.
He also had the foresight to know that appeasement was not the solution to a conflict with any group, regardless of their national origins or religious beliefs, that declared themselves to be sworn enemies of America.

President Obama, I respectfully suggest that before you use Thomas Jefferson, or any of the other great leaders this country, as an example of anything, that you study some American history first.

Try and learn just what it is you are talking about.

After all, you did say in response to a question at a White House press conference that you like to know what you are talking about before you comment on a matter.

So why not take a break from enjoying the sound of your own voice and inform yourself beforehand.

Then perhaps, at least on one issue,  you can try telling the truth in order to make your point.

We can only hope.

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Other Posts On This Topic

• November 1, 2009 -- Update: The Koran, Barack Obama, And Thomas Jefferson
• June 17, 2009 -- George Bush Was The Worst President Ever!
• June 12, 2009 -- How Terror Networks Can Be Run From U.S. Prisons
• May 29, 2009 -- The Obama Administration’s Next Step In Dealing With Terrorism