Islam: 5 Things You Didn't Know

Islam: 5 Things Men Should Know

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Islam continues to be in the news on a daily basis, yet many Americans are in the dark about the faith and its founder, the Prophet Muhammad. Even fewer of us are aware of how long Islam has been part of the American landscape — and the significance of its impact on American culture. Here are five things you didn’t know about Islam and its relationship with the West.



1- Our Founding Fathers had favorable views toward Islam

Benjamin Franklin famously stated that the standards of religious freedom in America had to be so broad that "Even if the Mufti [chief jurist] of Constantinople [from the Muslim Ottoman Empire] were to send a missionary to preach Mohammedanism to us, he would find a pulpit at his service."

This openness to Islam was actually quite commonplace among America’s Founding Fathers. When George Washington was asked in 1784 what kind of workers should be hired to work on Mount Vernon, he responded by stating that they should hire the best workers, regardless of their background: “If they are good workmen, they may be from Asia, Africa or Europe; they may be Mahometans, Jews, Christians of any sect, or they may be Atheists...”



2- Thomas Jefferson studied the Qur’an

3- The Obama administration believes that understanding Islam is key to improving the U.S.'s international image

If there is a figure more quintessentially American than Benjamin Franklin or even George Washington, it would have to be Thomas Jefferson. In 1765, Jefferson was studying for his bar exam to qualify as a lawyer. In order to acquaint himself with what various traditions had to offer about law, he purchased for his own private use the most recent and accurate translation of the Qur’an available, a work by George Sale called, which had been translated from the original Arabic in 1734. Jefferson’s personal copy of the Qur’an eventually became part of the holdings of the Library of Congress, and recently gained a great deal of attention when it was used in the swearing-in ceremony of Keith Ellison, the first Muslim American elected to the United States Congress.The most powerful declaration of support for Islam from an American political leader was the June 2009 speech of President Obama in Cairo. In this historic speech, Barack Obama began by saying, "I have come here to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world; one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect; and one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive, and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap, and share common principles — principles of justice and progress; tolerance and the dignity of all human beings."

Obama then went on to cite from the Qur’an ("Be conscious of God and speak always the truth”), and offered that he too promised to follow the spiritual and moral guidance of this verse and speak truthfully. In quite possibly the most emphatic statement of support any American president has ever made on behalf of Islam, he stated: “And I consider it part of my responsibility as president of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear.”

We have two more things you didn't know about Islam after the break...