Schlussel Postscript

A few people wrote in to mention that, when Debbie Schlussel compared Keith Ellison using the Koran in a photo-op to the Barbary pirates in my appearance with her on BBC Radio yesterday, she was leaving out one key point.

The Treaty of Tripoli (the Treaty of Peace and Friendship) was a 1796 peace treaty between the United States and Tripoli. It was signed at Tripoli on November 4, 1796 and at Algiers (for a third-party guarantee) on January 3, 1797 by Joel Barlow, the American consul-general to the Barbary states of Algiers, Tripoli and Tunis [...]

The English translated version of the Treaty is notable for Article 11, which reads:

"As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquillity, of Mussulmen; and, as the said States never entered into any war, or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties, that no pretext arising from religious opinions, shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries."

Article 11 has been a point of contention regarding the proper interpretation of the doctrine of separation of church and state. It is sometimes argued that this provision is confirmation that the government of the United States was specifically intended to be religiously neutral, or that the United States is not historically "Christian."

So much for that "America is a Christian nation" thing, ay? Schlussel's claim, that we fought the Barbary pirates because we rejected their religion instead of, you know, piracy, is utterly refuted by the treaty document. Darn, if I had that at my fingertips just a little sooner...