Jefferson and the Qur’an: Exploring the Islamic roots that built America’s transformative foundation
In a stately repository of the nation’s heritage, two volumes rest quietly among countless others. These books, housed in a prominent American library dating back to the country’s earliest years, speak to a complex and often overlooked facet of the nation’s founding era. The English translation of the Qur’an was once owned by an influential Founding Father. The other manuscript was authored by a Muslim scholar forcibly brought to North America as an enslaved individual. The manuscripts challenge the commonly told narrative of America’s religious liberty and progress. Taken together, the two surviving texts suggest that Islam’s influence in...
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