War Duty Quotes
This quotation was reported to Congress by Thomas Jefferson. Essentially, this religious justification is no different from that made by contemporary Islamic extremists. Particularly interesting is the last sentence. The Koran states that all Muslims who die defending Islam will go immediately to heaven regardless of their previous sins and transgressions. Under that justification, even criminal extortion and terrorism is justified by some Muslims whenever the victims are non-believers.
“Musselman” was then a term for Muslims used by Europeans. The Arabs then, as many terrorists still do, commonly captured American and European ships enslaving the crews and passengers or holding them for ransom. Jefferson and Adams explained that if this could not be stopped and resolved it might mean war. The Americans could not understand why they were attacked when American had done nothing to offend the Arab Counties. The Arab envoy explained their “duty” and “right” to attack Americans and why war was not a serious deterrent to Islamic nations. Ironically, the same explanations were given by Arab leaders in the early 21st century to illustrate why the Arab countries could not be intimidated.
Collection of Spoken Words of the Prophet
