Sunday 19 January 2014

Thomas Jefferson and Islam?

The Bradenton Herald (19 January 2014) carries an interesting opinion piece on the views on Islam of the American founding father, President and author of the Declaration of Independence:

"In 1776, Jefferson inscribed these pivotal words among his private notes: "(N)either Pagan nor Mahometan (Muslim) nor Jew ought to be excluded from the civil rights of the commonwealth because of his religion." They were written a few months after he composed the Declaration of Independence, when he returned to Virginia to draft new laws for his state.

Jefferson borrowed the precedent of "civil rights" for Muslims from the English philosopher John Locke's 1689 tract, "A Letter Concerning Toleration." Locke's ideas about the toleration of Muslims and Jews provoked attacks: One critic condemned him for having "the faith of a Turk." His enemies also charged, rightly, that he owned a copy of the Quran, which they termed "the Mahometan bible."

You can read the full article here.



Read more here: http://www.bradenton.com/2014/01/19/4941989/thomas-jefferson-muslims-and-the.html#storylink=cpy