America 's Inspiration

Terrorists & Treaties:   America vs. the Barbary Pirates

By Cheryl Rhodes

Unless you’ve been vacationing on another planet, you have probably heard politicians and pundits argue about how America should respond to radical Islamic terrorists.  The debate on the “Ground Zero Mosque” and the “burning of the Quran” media frenzy has only heated up the dialogue.  It might surprise some that almost from the moment of her conception; America has been dealing with terrorists.   Perhaps we can learn something from our past.

As America was blossoming into nationhood, a diplomatic crisis was brewing in the Mediterranean Sea, where Muslim pirates of North Africa (known as the Barbary Pirates) were demanding bribes in an effort to control the shipping routes of the area.  Vessels belonging to nations that refused to pay the tribute where captured and held for ransom or forced into slavery.  The United States was a young nation with no Navy and therefore no alternative but to pay.  President Washington had sent a prestigious delegation of diplomats (including John Paul Jones) to negotiate treaties and help free Americans held in Barbary dungeons.  Most of these treaties failed to accomplish any lasting peace, but the language incorporated into the treaty with Tripoli was quite extraordinary for the time.

In an attempt to prevent the situation from escalating into a “jihad” the treaty of Tripoli sought to alleviate the fears of this Muslim nation by explaining how America Christianity should be distinguished from European Christianity.  Article XI of the treaty stated:

    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 [hatred] against the laws, religion or tranquility of Musselmen [Muslims] and as the said States [America] have never entered into 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.

Now some like to argue that this statement says that America was not a Christian nation, but that is not the language that is being used here.  When the treaty states that “ America is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion as it has in itself no character of enmity”, it is simply stating that America does not represent Christendom in the same way that the European nations did during the time of the Crusades.  The point that is being made is that American Christianity is more “civilized”, as John Quincy Adams put it.  Article XI continues by stressing that the United States does not intend to suppress or wage war against Islamic nations, nor does it wish to allow “religious opinions” and differences to create hostility between the two nations.

It is interesting to note that although the United States made every effort to make peace with these pirates, all the “talk” came to nothing.  By the time Thomas Jefferson took office, the United States government was paying one-fifth of the national treasury to the Barbary pirates for tribute and ransoms.  And so it was, in one of this nation’s first military engagements, Jefferson sent Marines “to the shores of Tripoli ”.  There a small band of American Marines would raise a coalition of European and Arab forces to battle the pirates.  With the end of the War of 1812, the United States devoted her full attention to the pirate terrorists and sailed our warships to the Mediterranean .  Only then did the Barbary Pirates agree to pay an indemnity and free their captured slaves.

This history lesson should teach us a few things.  First, as Americans, we should continue to make the case that the United States practices a form of Christianity that differs from the Christianity that Muslims experienced at the hands of the European crusaders.  Second, we need to articulate that though a majority our people do practice Christianity; our government does not represent Christianity.  Our government represents the people of America .  Third, we do not want to make religion a point of hostility between nations.  However, we have learned from the past that negotiating with terrorists accomplishes little and if American lives are at stake, or our liberties being suppressed, we will stand and fight…though we wish for peace.   We pray for peace.

IN GOD WE TRUST!