https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...efended-muslim-rights/?utm_term=.73ec1fd00cac
EXCERPT:
Jefferson authored the VA Statute for Religious Freedom and asked that it be one of just three accomplishments listed on his tombstone. The VA law became the foundation of the religious freedom protections later delineated in the Constitution.
VA went from having a strong state-established church, which Virginians had to pay taxes to support, to protecting freedom of conscience and separating church and state. Jefferson specifically mentioned Muslims when describing the broad scope of protections he intended by his legislation, which was passed in 1786.
“What he wanted to do was get the state of VA out of the business of deciding which was the best religion, and who had to pay taxes to support it,” said Spellberg, a professor of history and Islamic studies at the Univ of TX…
During the bill’s debate, some legislators wanted to insert the term “Jesus Christ,” which was rejected. Writing in 1821, Jefferson reflected that “singular proposition proved that [the bill’s] protection of opinion was meant to be universal.”
Spellberg continued:
Where the preamble declares, that coercion is a departure from the plan of the holy author of our religion, an amendment was proposed, by inserting the word “Jesus Christ,” so that it should read, “a departure from the plan of Jesus Christ, the holy author of our religion;” the insertion was rejected by a great majority, in proof that they meant to comprehend, within the mantle of its protection, the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and Mahometan [Muslim], the Hindoo [Hindu], and Infidel of every denomination."
Jefferson’s opinions on religious liberty were heavily influenced by John Locke,as noted by J,H. Hutson, writing in 2002 as chief of the Library of Congress’s Manuscript Division:
In his seminal Letter on Toleration (1689), John Locke insisted that Muslims and all others who believed in God be tolerated in England. Campaigning for religious freedom in VA, Jefferson followed Locke, his idol, in demanding recognition of the religious rights of the “Mahamdan,” the Jew and the “pagan.” Supporting Jefferson was his old ally, Richard Henry Lee, who had made a motion in Congress on June 7, 1776, that the American colonies declare independence. “True freedom,” Lee asserted, “embraces the Mahomitan and the Gentoo (Hindu) as well as the Christian religion.”
James Madison, whose views on religious liberty aligned with Jefferson’s, helped usher the VA bill to final passage. In a document arguing against religious taxes that received thousands of signatures, Madison referenced foreign religious persecution — specifically the Inquisition.
He also argued that separation of church and state would actually promote Christianity, writing that an open society would be welcoming to those “remaining under the dominion of false Religions.” Establishing an official church, he wrote, “discourages those who are strangers to the light of revelation.”…
