Ground Zero Mosque: WWJD – What Would Jefferson Do?

So a Mosque and Islamic Community Center just feet from ground zero? Hmmm, I wonder what Jefferson would do (WWJD)?

In 1784, attending a conference in Paris with Franklin and Adams to “market U.S. goods,” TJ was quick to determine that the challenge imposed to U.S. merchant ships needed more than marketing. Islamic terrorists known as Pirates were simply Mujahidin not out to enrich themselves but rather to carry out the Prophet’s words, to fight the Infidels, convert the Infidels, subjugate the Infidels (they were prolific slave traders of Europeans), kill the Infidels. It all seemed very simple to them and they used their “booty” to buy more ammo and weapons to continue Jihad. The Europeans for their part, particularly France and England simply paid a ransom to their Islamic buds who used the money, you guessed it, to buy weapons, ships and more ammo.

Finally as Secretary of State in 1792 Jefferson worked hard to establish the US Navy in essence to protect our merchant men. The catalyst to get this done came in the fall of 1793 when 11 US merchant ships were seized and as many as 100 U.S. seamen were enslaved. This event caused a hiccup in the U.S. economy, unemployment rose, the stock market dipped sharply, and it took Congress only 4 months to decide to build warships.

Ahh, but to learn lessons rather than just endure them! Congress didn’t listen to Jefferson who advocated for War – rather, they sent diplomats to TALK to the bad guys; then they paid a $1M ransom and gave the Jihadists a warship to release the survivors. But President Jefferson set the conditions for ending this chapter in Jihad by going to war in 1801. The United States Marine Corps Hymn chronicles this in the first line, “…to the shores of Tripoli.”

So back to the Mosque; after over 200 years since our first brush with Fundamentalist Islam we are still confused as to their intentions about which they are perfectly clear. Thomas Jefferson would simply just say no and be done with it.