Why Thomas Jefferson Owned a Qur’an

[Votto]

Muhammad holding Qur'an carved into the wall of the US Supreme Court.

Wow, Islam predated Moses?

You learn something everyday.

 

[Votto]

Two hundred and three years ago this month, President James Madison approved the act of Congress purchasing Thomas Jefferson’s private library. Intended to restock the Library of Congress after its previous holdings were destroyed by British arson during the War of 1812, the transfer of books from Monticello to Washington also highlights a forgotten aspect of religious diversity in early America.


Among the 6,487 books that soon traveled north, Jefferson’s 1734 edition of the Qur’an is perhaps the most surprising.

Historians have attributed the third president’s ownership of the Muslim holy book to his curiosity about a variety of religious perspectives. It’s appropriate to view it that way. Jefferson bought this book while he was a young man studying law, and he may have read it in part to better understand Islam’s influence on some of the world’s legal systems.

But that obscures a crucial fact: To many living in Jefferson’s young nation, this book meant much more. Some scholars estimate 20 percent of the enslaved men and women brought to the Americas were Muslims. While today these American followers of the Prophet Muhammad have been largely forgotten, the presence of Islam in the United States was not unknown among the nation’s citizens in the 18th and 19th centuries. Often practiced in secret, reluctantly abandoned, or blended with other traditions, these first attempts ultimately did not survive slavery. But the mere existence of Islam in the early republic is evidence that religious diversity in this country has a deeper and more complex history than many now know.



Not long before Jefferson’s Qur’an rolled north with the rest of his library in 1815, another American attempted to write his own Islamic sacred text, albeit in a form that could not be so easily transported or understood. He wrote his in Arabic on a jail cell wall.

Slave traders captured Omar ibn Said in what is now Senegal and brought him to Charleston, South Carolina, in 1807. He was sold to a man that Said would describe as cruel and a kafir, or infidel. A devout Muslim when he arrived in the United States, Said strived during his enslavement first to maintain his faith, and then to transform it. His story has earned a place in history—as well as in the “Religion in Early America” exhibition, currently on view at the National Museum of American History, and on the Smithsonian Institution’s latest Sidedoor podcast.


Read more: Why Thomas Jefferson Owned a Qur’an | At the Smithsonian | Smithsonian
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Follow us: @SmithsonianMag on Twitter

That's an interesting bit of history.

From all indications, Jefferson was a Deist and even rewrote his own Bible to make it more palatable to him.

 

[irosie91]

for the record-----I OWN five copies of the Koran------and never paid a
dime for any of them-----they are freely available at community book dumps.
In case you do not have access to community book dumps-----the SAUDI
EMBASSY also gives them away GRATIS. -------I also have several pocket
sized copies of the NT------sweet little old ladies used to hand them out in
my town-----around Christmas. Hubby was born a dhimmi in a shariah shit hole------I have to hide my korans because where he was born a jew holding
a Koran could instigate a pogrom thereby (for the record----all of my korans are in English translation----Yusuf ali is very good----lots of commentary

 

[irosie91]

Muhammad holding Qur'an carved into the wall of the US Supreme Court.

Wow, Islam predated Moses?

You learn something everyday.

more to learn-------both Adam and Jesus were muslims. The story about
Jesus turning water to wine at a wedding is a fraudulent insert------ask any
friendly Imam

 

[Disir]

Two hundred and three years ago this month, President James Madison approved the act of Congress purchasing Thomas Jefferson’s private library. Intended to restock the Library of Congress after its previous holdings were destroyed by British arson during the War of 1812, the transfer of books from Monticello to Washington also highlights a forgotten aspect of religious diversity in early America.


Among the 6,487 books that soon traveled north, Jefferson’s 1734 edition of the Qur’an is perhaps the most surprising.

Historians have attributed the third president’s ownership of the Muslim holy book to his curiosity about a variety of religious perspectives. It’s appropriate to view it that way. Jefferson bought this book while he was a young man studying law, and he may have read it in part to better understand Islam’s influence on some of the world’s legal systems.

But that obscures a crucial fact: To many living in Jefferson’s young nation, this book meant much more. Some scholars estimate 20 percent of the enslaved men and women brought to the Americas were Muslims. While today these American followers of the Prophet Muhammad have been largely forgotten, the presence of Islam in the United States was not unknown among the nation’s citizens in the 18th and 19th centuries. Often practiced in secret, reluctantly abandoned, or blended with other traditions, these first attempts ultimately did not survive slavery. But the mere existence of Islam in the early republic is evidence that religious diversity in this country has a deeper and more complex history than many now know.



Not long before Jefferson’s Qur’an rolled north with the rest of his library in 1815, another American attempted to write his own Islamic sacred text, albeit in a form that could not be so easily transported or understood. He wrote his in Arabic on a jail cell wall.

Slave traders captured Omar ibn Said in what is now Senegal and brought him to Charleston, South Carolina, in 1807. He was sold to a man that Said would describe as cruel and a kafir, or infidel. A devout Muslim when he arrived in the United States, Said strived during his enslavement first to maintain his faith, and then to transform it. His story has earned a place in history—as well as in the “Religion in Early America” exhibition, currently on view at the National Museum of American History, and on the Smithsonian Institution’s latest Sidedoor podcast.


Read more: Why Thomas Jefferson Owned a Qur’an | At the Smithsonian | Smithsonian
Give the gift of Smithsonian magazine for only $12! Give the gift of Smithsonian
Follow us: @SmithsonianMag on Twitter

That's an interesting bit of history.

From all indications, Jefferson was a Deist and even rewrote his own Bible to make it more palatable to him.

Yep.

 

[Picaro]

From all indications, Jefferson was a Deist and even rewrote his own Bible to make it more palatable to him.

Two of Jefferson's letters that survive, written to two of his closest lifelong friends and not just letters to people he was trying to influence on some issue or other, he states clearly that he was a Christian, and considered it by far the superior theology. He never says that publicly, but does so in private correspondence. There is no correspondence anywhere where he claims to be a 'Deist'; that's just a fantasy concocted by deviants and 'atheists'.

 

[Disir]

From all indications, Jefferson was a Deist and even rewrote his own Bible to make it more palatable to him.

Two of Jefferson's letters that survive, written to two of his closest lifelong friends and not just letters to people he was trying to influence on some issue or other, he states clearly that he was a Christian, and considered it by far the superior theology. He never says that publicly, but does so in private correspondence. There is no correspondence anywhere where he claims to be a 'Deist'; that's just a fantasy concocted by deviants and 'atheists'.

What he says in various correspondence is that he doesn't believe in the fantastical representations. Deists were a thing. His BFF in later years correspondence was with a deeply religious forefather.

When we look at Thomas Jefferson, we do so from the very recent history of the US. He is as far back as we really go. However, what he considered history would have been much different. His history was Bloody Mary and Elizabeth. He was acutely aware of what a state religion looked like because this was what the world looked like. How many times do you think that this man got wind of the bones of a disciple or shrouds hailed in the streets of Europe as authentic proofiness?How many were noted in his history?How many did he encounter that were used for political purposes?

Thomas Jefferson was a mere mortal. Not a "Sphinx". He was just a man. He believed as he did with what he knew. In the same way that he fought for rights as a British subject rather than what we perceive as American.

 

[Picaro]

From all indications, Jefferson was a Deist and even rewrote his own Bible to make it more palatable to him.

Two of Jefferson's letters that survive, written to two of his closest lifelong friends and not just letters to people he was trying to influence on some issue or other, he states clearly that he was a Christian, and considered it by far the superior theology. He never says that publicly, but does so in private correspondence. There is no correspondence anywhere where he claims to be a 'Deist'; that's just a fantasy concocted by deviants and 'atheists'.

What he says in various correspondence is that he doesn't believe in the fantastical representations. Deists were a thing. His BFF in later years correspondence was with a deeply religious forefather.

When we look at Thomas Jefferson, we do so from the very recent history of the US. He is as far back as we really go. However, what he considered history would have been much different. His history was Bloody Mary and Elizabeth. He was acutely aware of what a state religion looked like because this was what the world looked like. How many times do you think that this man got wind of the bones of a disciple or shrouds hailed in the streets of Europe as authentic proofiness?How many were noted in his history?How many did he encounter that were used for political purposes?

Thomas Jefferson was a mere mortal. Not a "Sphinx". He was just a man. He believed as he did with what he knew. In the same way that he fought for rights as a British subject rather than what we perceive as American.

None of which makes him a 'Deist', as already noted he never claimed to be one, and indeed claimed to be a Christian, in private letters. I look at Jefferson entirely in his own milieu, not from 'modern history'. His major political influence was Bolingbrokism, not Locke or any philosopher; it was common to make claims to the various philosophers, as philosophy was a parlor game for the wealthy of the day, and actually had little or no relevance at all to what they practiced and actually believed, and especially in Jefferson's case; he made practice of never saying anything publicly that he could be pinned down on later. A primary example of this was his screed on slavery. feigning opposition to it, waxing grandly on its evils n stuff, meanwhile in his real life he was a enthusiastic slave trader, and owned over 600 of them, buying and selling them his entire life; they paid for Monticello and his lavish lifestyle. He wasn't in the least troubled by slavery. All one needs to to do is look at what the politics of the day called for to figure out why he was saying what he did, and why what him or any other politician says for public consumption is largely meaningless.

People just like making the bogus claim of his being a 'Deist' in order to sell fake 'talking points' re Christianity, is all, and misrepresenting the intent of the 1st Amendment; the Founders were overwhelmingly Christian, including Jefferson. And, most of them came from states with 'established religions' as well, that weren't abolished for decades in some cases, with Massachusetts being the last, around 1833 or so, to disestablish their stare's religion.

"Separation of church and state" was itself an invention of the Baptists, those Evul Fundie Evangelicals, so you're still stuck with Evul Xian influence in the Constitution no matter how much one hates it.

 

[sparky]

 

[Disir]

From all indications, Jefferson was a Deist and even rewrote his own Bible to make it more palatable to him.

Two of Jefferson's letters that survive, written to two of his closest lifelong friends and not just letters to people he was trying to influence on some issue or other, he states clearly that he was a Christian, and considered it by far the superior theology. He never says that publicly, but does so in private correspondence. There is no correspondence anywhere where he claims to be a 'Deist'; that's just a fantasy concocted by deviants and 'atheists'.

What he says in various correspondence is that he doesn't believe in the fantastical representations. Deists were a thing. His BFF in later years correspondence was with a deeply religious forefather.

When we look at Thomas Jefferson, we do so from the very recent history of the US. He is as far back as we really go. However, what he considered history would have been much different. His history was Bloody Mary and Elizabeth. He was acutely aware of what a state religion looked like because this was what the world looked like. How many times do you think that this man got wind of the bones of a disciple or shrouds hailed in the streets of Europe as authentic proofiness?How many were noted in his history?How many did he encounter that were used for political purposes?

Thomas Jefferson was a mere mortal. Not a "Sphinx". He was just a man. He believed as he did with what he knew. In the same way that he fought for rights as a British subject rather than what we perceive as American.

None of which makes him a 'Deist', as already noted he never claimed to be one, and indeed claimed to be a Christian, in private letters. I look at Jefferson entirely in his own milieu, not from 'modern history'. His major political influence was Bolingbrokism, not Locke or any philosopher; it was common to make claims to the various philosophers, as philosophy was a parlor game for the wealthy of the day, and actually had little or no relevance at all to what they practiced and actually believed, and especially in Jefferson's case; he made practice of never saying anything publicly that he could be pinned down on later. A primary example of this was his screed on slavery. feigning opposition to it, waxing grandly on its evils n stuff, meanwhile in his real life he was a enthusiastic slave trader, and owned over 600 of them, buying and selling them his entire life; they paid for Monticello and his lavish lifestyle. He wasn't in the least troubled by slavery. All one needs to to do is look at what the politics of the day called for to figure out why he was saying what he did, and why what him or any other politician says for public consumption is largely meaningless.

People just like making the bogus claim of his being a 'Deist' in order to sell fake 'talking points' re Christianity, is all, and misrepresenting the intent of the 1st Amendment; the Founders were overwhelmingly Christian, including Jefferson. And, most of them came from states with 'established religions' as well, that weren't abolished for decades in some cases, with Massachusetts being the last, around 1833 or so, to disestablish their stare's religion.

"Separation of church and state" was itself an invention of the Baptists, those Evul Fundie Evangelicals, so you're still stuck with Evul Xian influence in the Constitution no matter how much one hates it.

There is nothing to sell to Christianity. No state religion and for the reasons listed above. Their history was the Divine Right of Kings.

The justifications (usurpation and abuse) listed in the Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence: Full text

are straight out of John Locke's Second Treatise of Government.
http://www.yorku.ca/comninel/courses/3025pdf/Locke.pdf

and he was a response to Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan.

That is Constitutional Law or Poli Sci 101.

I'm not worried about evul Christians. If you and some of the atheists on the board want to spend hours arguing over the same crap and beating your heads against the wall, be my guest. Unless someone decides to get really rude with me, I have better stuff to do.

 

[Picaro]

There is nothing to sell to Christianity. No state religion and for the reasons listed above. Their history was the Divine Right of Kings.

The justifications (usurpation and abuse) listed in the Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence: Full text

are straight out of John Locke's Second Treatise of Government.
http://www.yorku.ca/comninel/courses/3025pdf/Locke.pdf

and he was a response to Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan.

That is Constitutional Law or Poli Sci 101.

I'm not worried about evul Christians. If you and some of the atheists on the board want to spend hours arguing over the same crap and beating your heads against the wall, be my guest. Unless someone decides to get really rude with me, I have better stuff to do.

The only 'Deist' most heard of was Thomas Paine, who wasn't a 'Founder' in the first place, merely a hired propagandist whose only post was a as a secretary in London. You might find one in the entire group of 'Founders', and we note no evidence Jefferson ever claimed to be a 'Deist' has yet to turn up, just a lot of segues to avoid the facts. Locke didn't invent separation of church and state, or anything else; like all 'Enlightenment' sophists, they merely stole and rewrote most of their 'profound thoughts' from Christian apologists and philosophers, mostly Catholic ones at that, like Thomas Aquinas, Augustine, and many others.

And the states did indeed have 'established religions'; the clause only barred the Federal govt. from favoring one sect over another. None of the latter facts are debatable. Name-dropping some philosopher or other isn't proof they influenced anything, it's just propaganda, and Jefferson was a propagandist. Bolingbrokism was by far the largest influence on Jefferson, hands down, and not debatable either.