Yes, and that oft-quoted language in the Treaty of Tripoli about the US not having anything to do with Christianity was, i believe, signed while sailors were still being held hostage and we were paying tribute.
It’s about as authoritative as a modern-day hostage videotape in terms of the “voluntary” nature of its statenents. What it actually proves is that we have had problems in the Middle East for a long time . . .
The language in the treaty had a clear purpose. It said that our nation has no religious axe to grind with the “Musselmen” as opposed to many European nations. The identity of the people and the culture may be Christian, but the nation itself is not defined as Christian and thus is not in opposition to Muslim countries on the basis of religion.
In short, “We don’t want a religious war, we just want you to stop harrassing our shippping.”