Thomas Jefferson's Qur'an: Islam and the Founders

¡ Tantor Media Inc ¡ Narrated by Jo Anna Perrin
19 reviews
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13 hr 26 min
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About this audiobook

In this original and illuminating book, Denise A. Spellberg reveals a little-known but crucial dimension of the story of American religious freedom—a drama in which Islam played a surprising role. In 1765, eleven years before composing the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson bought a Qur'an. This marked only the beginning of his lifelong interest in Islam, and he would go on to acquire numerous books on Middle Eastern languages, history, and travel, taking extensive notes on Islam as it relates to English common law. Jefferson sought to understand Islam notwithstanding his personal disdain for the faith, a sentiment prevalent among his Protestant contemporaries in England and America. But unlike most of them, by 1776 Jefferson could imagine Muslims as future citizens of his new country.



Based on groundbreaking research, Spellberg compellingly recounts how a handful of the Founders, Jefferson foremost among them, drew upon Enlightenment ideas about the toleration of Muslims (then deemed the ultimate outsiders in Western society) to fashion out of what had been a purely speculative debate a practical foundation for governance in America.
In this original and illuminating book, Denise A. Spellberg reveals a little-known but crucial dimension of the story of American religious freedom—a drama in which Islam played a surprising role. In 1765, eleven years before composing the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson bought a Qu...

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Ratings and reviews

19 reviews
Jae Riot
March 7, 2022
😂😂yall mad im sure they avoided telling yall even more truth like America when it was found was a Muslim empire an had to understand the religion because the land was a province of the moorish empire. Which is why it was the first nation to recognize the corporation of America. The real kicker is the American Indians were black Muslims which is why he played the way he did . An why the treaty of peace an friendship is the longest running treaty an the white house an casablanca are a thing 😂
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Cornelius
March 10, 2021
This is fake and a blunt lie. Jefferson never took interest in having Islam in American culture. Jefferson did read the Qu’ran but only after traveling to the French embassy in trying to understand why Tripoli and other Islamic nations kept capturing American, German and British merchant ships and killing and stealing all that was onboard unless ransom was paid. Jefferson signed into legislation that America was to never pay ransoms again and is still the policy today, instead he funded Ships as an acting Navy to protect merchant ships from Islamic countries who believe that western Christian nations should be eradicated by all means as told to him by a diplomat from Tripoli meeting with him in France and who also gave Jefferson a Quran who disagreed deeply with the hateful notion. The attacks continued and as a result the battle of Tripoli took place where sailors got off there ships to the shores of Tripoli to fight against the Jihad, hence where the Marine Corps hymn comes from “from the Halls of Montezuma to the shores of Tripoli...” This book is a bold face lie. All this information can be sourced from the wall builders archive who holds hundreds of thousands of historical documents including Jefferson’s letters and journals regarding the conflict with Tripoli and neighboring nations in the fight against Americas first cases of terrorism.
52 people found this review helpful
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R K
May 29, 2022
The misinformation about Islam in this comment thread is embarrassing 🤦‍♂️. Do some actual research, and don’t believe every hate pushing lowlife on the internet
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About the author

Denise A. Spellberg is a Professor of History and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, where she teaches courses on Islamic civilization and Islam in Europe and America.

Jo Anna Perrin is an accomplished actor who has appeared in film and television, as well as on stage in New York, Los Angeles, and regionally. The narrator of numerous audiobooks, Jo Anna has garnered critical praise from AudioFile magazine, Booklist, Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly.

Denise A. Spellberg is a Professor of History and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, where she teaches courses on Islamic civilization and Islam in Europe and America. Jo Anna Perrin is an accomplished actor who has appeared in film and television, as well as on stage in...

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