Islam’s War on America – Part two

Today’s article is part two of a two-part series on Islam’s war on America. I hope the reader’s perspective is enlightened by an awareness of these historical events.

First comes a brief review. I pointed out last time that America’s very first war following the Revolutionary War was against Muslims, when five Islamic nations—Tunis, Morocco, Algiers, Tripoli and Turkey, collectively referred to as the Barbary Coast—began making indiscriminate, ferocious attacks against the property and interests of what they claimed were Christian nations (America, England, France, Spain, Portugal, Denmark, Sweden, etc.). The pirates operated primarily in the Mediterranean Sea but also sent ships up along the European Atlantic coast, reaching the British Isles, Norway, and even Iceland.

These Muslim pirates attacked every ship in sight and held the crews for exorbitant ransoms, subjecting them to barbaric treatment. They often conducted raids on European coastal towns to either kidnap the wealthy for ransom payments or to capture Christians to sell at slave markets in Algeria and Morocco. All traders who did not pay blackmail in order to secure immunity were liable to be taken at sea. Even the most powerful European states yielded to these pirates, making payments and tolerating their insults.

In 1784, the first ship in America’s fledgling Navy was seized by Moroccan pirates. Two more American ships were seized in 1785 by Algeria. Before the Revolutionary War, U.S. merchant ships had been under the protection of Great Britain, but when the U.S. declared its independence and entered into war, the ships of America were protected by France. However, once the war was won, America had to protect its own fleets.

Muslim attacks against American ships were frequent. President George Washington dispatched envoys that secured several treaties to ensure the protection of American ships sailing in the region. Similar treaties were also arranged under the presidencies of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison. These agreements required America to pay hundreds of thousands (tens of millions in today’s currency) in “tribute” to the Muslim countries. At the time, we had virtually no navy and no standing army by which to defend America overseas, so the only way to save American lives was to pay protection money. By the last year of his presidency, 16% of the federal budget was being spent on extortion payments, so Washington urged Congress to build a U.S. Navy to defend American interests on the high seas. When John Adams became president, he vigorously pursued those plans, earning the title, “Father of the Navy.”

When Thomas Jefferson became president in 1801, he received a letter from Pasha of Tripoli demanding immediate payment of $225,000 plus $25,000 a year for several years following. Jefferson flatly refused. The Pasha responded by cutting down the flagpole at the American consulate and declared war on the United States. Tunis, Morocco and Algiers immediately followed suit.

The U.S. Congress, in 1794, had authorized the construction of six frigates, the first ships of the United States Navy. These ships were designed to be heavy frigates-longer and faster than the conventional ones of their day, able to fight against any ships their size and fast enough to evade larger ships.

President Jefferson dispatched a squadron of frigates to the Mediterranean and taught the Muslim nations of the Barbary Coast a lesson he hoped they would never forget. When Algiers and Tunis, who were both accustomed to American cowardice, saw that the United States had the will and the means to strike back, they quickly backed down.

The war with Tripoli lasted four years (1801-1805), during which the terrorist forces were crushed. Tripoli finally signed a treaty on America’s terms, thus ending their aggressions.

Unfortunately, the war with Islamic terrorists did not end with Jefferson’s military victories. When President James Madison took office and became engulfed in the War of 1812, the terrorists renewed their attacks upon Americans. The Americans were able to hold them at bay until the war with the British ended in 1815, when Madison dispatched military commanders Stephen Decatur and William Bainbridge (two heroes of the war on terrorism under Jefferson) against Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli. U. S. forces quickly subdued Algiers and in July 1815, signed a treaty freeing all Christians and ending future slavery of Christians. The Americans defeated the Tunisian pirates and, with the help of Great Britain and the Netherlands, subdued the rest of the Barbary Pirate nations.

Thus, after over 30 years of conflict and six years of armed warfare, the Muslim terrorists attacks against America finally subsided. The result was that the United States and the Christian nations of Europe were able to keep the Muslims at bay for over 100 years. But in the past 60 years, Muslims have slowly infiltrated Europe, with not only their presence, but also their ideology.

According to Pew Research Center estimates, Muslims made up approximately 5% of Europe’s population in 2016, and in the coming decades, the Muslim share of the continent’s total population is expected to grow steadily.

Pew also estimates that there were about 3.45 million Muslims of all ages in the U.S. in 2017, comprising 1.1% of the total U.S. population. Muslims are the third largest religious group in the U.S., behind Christians and Jews. Projections suggest that the U.S. Muslim population will grow much faster than the country’s Jewish population, and by 2040, Muslims will replace Jews as the nation’s second largest religious group.

Tim Lewis can be reached at timlewis1@windstream.net.

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