Jefferson stated that the Koran was the cause of the barbary pirates
Oh oh...don't let that get out or there will be another Jihad declared!
"Jefferson stated that the Koran was the cause of the barbary pirates"
And he wasn't talking through his hat. That is exactly what he was told by the Muslim leaders of the day:
Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute!
The Barbary Pirates were Muslims. Those they preyed upon were exclusively Christians, and if not released through the payment of tribute, faced slavery or worse. Those few who converted to Islam escaped slavery, and were treated as equals. If any Christian dared to blaspheme Allah, he risked being impaled or roasted alive. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, serving at the time as European Ministers, asked the ambassador from Tripoli why his government sanctioned such savagery. He replied that the Koran stated that non-Muslims were "sinners," and Muslims had a "...right and duty to make war upon them wherever they could be found, and to make slaves of all they could take as Prisoners."
http://www.zianet.com/web/barbary.htm