Jefferson memorial in Washington DC

Collected by Zia H Shah MD, Chief Editor of the Muslim Times

Thomas Jefferson (April 13 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Father who was principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776). He was elected the second Vice President of the United States (1797–1801), serving under John Adams and in 1800 was elected third President (1801–09). Jefferson was a proponent of democracy, republicanism, and individual rights, which motivated American colonists to break from Great Britain and form a new nation. He produced formative documents and decisions at both the state and national level.

Primarily of English ancestry, Jefferson was born and educated in Virginia. He graduated from the College of William & Mary and practiced law. During the American Revolution, he represented Virginia in the Continental Congress that adopted the Declaration, drafted the law for religious freedom as a Virginia legislator, and served as a wartime governor (1779–1781). He became the United States Minister to France in May 1785, and subsequently the nation’s first Secretary of State in 1790–1793 under President George Washington. Jefferson and James Madison organized the Democratic-Republican Party to oppose the Federalist Party during the formation of the First Party System. With Madison, he anonymously wrote the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions in 1798–1799, which sought to embolden states’ rights in opposition to the national government by nullifying the Alien and Sedition Acts.

While President Jefferson pursued the nation’s shipping and trade interests against Barbary pirates and aggressive British trade policies respectively he also organized the Louisiana Purchase almost doubling the country’s territory. As a result of peace negotiations with France, his administration reduced military forces. He was reelected in 1804. Jefferson’s second term was beset with difficulties at home, including the trial of former Vice President Aaron Burr. American foreign trade was diminished when Jefferson implemented the Embargo Act of 1807, responding to British threats to U.S. shipping. In 1803, Jefferson began a controversial process of Indian tribe removal to the newly organized Louisiana Territory, and, in 1807, signed the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves. Historians generally rank Jefferson as one of the greatest U.S. Presidents.

Jefferson mastered many disciplines which ranged from surveying and mathematics to horticulture and inventions. He was a proven architect in the classical tradition. Jefferson’s keen interest in religion and philosophy earned him the presidency of the American Philosophical Society. He shunned organized religion, but was influenced by both Christianity and deism. Besides English, he was well versed in Latin, Greek, French, Italian, and Spanish. He founded the University of Virginia after retiring from public office. He was a skilled writer and correspondent.

Official Portrait of President Thomas Jefferson by Rembrandt Peale

Here we present a collection of articles from the Muslim Times:

Thomas Jefferson Was a Muslim

BY ABBAS MILANI Source: The New Republic; April 25, 2014 Thomas Jefferson’s Qur’an: Islam and the Founders by Denise A. Spellberg In the smear campaign before the election for the […]

Book Review: Thomas Jefferson’s Qur’an: Islam and the Founders

Book Review from Amazon In this original and illuminating book, Denise A. Spellberg reveals a little-known but crucial dimension of the story of American religious freedom—a drama in which Islam […]

5 Facts About Thomas Jefferson’s Faith

The Huffington Post  |  By Carol Kuruvilla Posted: 04/13/2015  Thomas Jefferson was a staunch supporter of religious liberty, but his quest to make sure church and state stayed separate in American […]

Was President Thomas Jefferson a Muslim?

It is a book review of Thomas Jefferson’s Qur’an: Islam and the Founders by Denise A. Spellberg (Knopf) Reviewed by Abbas Milani, who is s the director of Iranian Studies at Stanford […]

Thomas Jefferson Wasn’t an Anti-Islamic Crusader

by Caitlin Aber Ms. Aber is an HNN intern. Islamophobia has spiraled out of control in the United States recently.  Terry Jones, a Christian minister with a small congregation in […]

What President Thomas Jefferson Can Teach Us, Other Than Separation of Church and State

Epigraph: And if Allah did not repel some men by means of others, there would surely have been pulled down cloisters and churches and synagogues and mosques, wherein the name […]

The Surprising Story Of ‘Thomas Jefferson’s Qur’an’

Listen to author’s interview in NPR Thomas Jefferson had a vast personal library reflecting his enormous curiosity about the world. Among his volumes: a Quran purchased in 1765 that informed […]

Amazon Book Review: Thomas Jefferson’s Qur’an: Islam and the Founders

Courtesy of Hanif Koya, California Author: Denise Spellberg Introduction In this original and illuminating book, Denise A. Spellberg reveals a little-known but crucial dimension of the story of American religious freedom—a […]

Islam and Thomas Jefferson

During the 1770s Jefferson purchased a number of Arabic texts, which might have given him the desire to learn the Arabic language and could have significantly reinforced his commitment to […]

‘Thomas Jefferson’s Qur’an: Islam and the Founders’ by Denise A. Spellberg

Islam at the Birth of America Denise A. Spellberg’s latest book says Islam had large impact on religious freedoms in America Denise A. Spellberg, author of Thomas Jefferson’s Qur’an: Islam […]

The Surprising Story Of ‘Thomas Jefferson’s Qur’an’

Source: NPR Thomas Jefferson had a vast personal library reflecting his enormous curiosity about the world. Among his volumes: a Quran purchased in 1765 that informed his ideas about plurality […]

The Surprising Story Of ‘Thomas Jefferson’s Qur’an’

Source: NPR Thomas Jefferson had a vast personal library reflecting his enormous curiosity about the world. Among his volumes: a Quran purchased in 1765 that informed his ideas about plurality […]

Thomas Jefferson Studied Qur’an, Advocated Full Rights For Muslims

By Jonathan Vankin,

Recently, a self-styled “pastor” in Florida sparked a worldwide controversy by threatening to burn copies of the Qur’an, the Islamic holy book. But he was far from the only member of America’s right wing to condemn Islam as a fundamentally evil religion. It is not uncommon for these religious conservatives to claim the nation’s Founding Fathers, in particular Thomas Jefferson, as supporters of their war against Islam…

Zafarullah Khan, A Thomas Jefferson of Pakistan Would have been Disappointed by 9/11

Youtube: Listen to Sir Chaudhry Zafarullah Khan Sahib, Pakistan’s First Foreign Minister. A radio programme on NPR’S with Bob Edwards was dedicated to the life of Sir Chaudhry Mohammad Zafarullah Khan Sahib. Recorded on 24th July 2010 More:  Category Education

President Thomas Jefferson — Was he a monotheist?

Written and collected by Zia H Shah MD, Chief Editor of the Muslim Times Source / Courtesy: Review of Religions and Alislam.org.  First published in 2007. A compelling argument that Thomas Jefferson […]

Picture of the Day: Thomas Jefferson’s Qur’an used for Oath in 2007

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (left) and US Congressman Keith Ellison (right) at his swearing-in ceremony with President Thomas Jefferson‘s Qur’an, in 2007 Reference

President Thomas Jefferson — Was he a monotheist?

By Zia H Shah MD Source / Courtesy: Review of Religions and Alislam.org.  First published in 2007. A compelling argument that Thomas Jefferson negated belief in the divinity of Jesus […]