1786 Jihad

In a letter to John Jay, Thomas Jefferson wrote about Jihad

“We took the liberty to make some enquiries concerning the ground of their (e.g. Muslim) pretensions to make war (e.g. Jihad) upon nations who had done them no injury, and observed that we considered all mankind as our friends who had done us no wrong, nor had given us any provocation. The ambassador (ambassador Abdrahaman) answered us that it was founded on the laws of their prophet, that it was written in their Koran, that all nations who should not have acknowledged their authority were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon them wherever they could be found, and to make slaves of all they could take as prisoners, and that every musselman [Muslim] who should be slain in battle was sure to go to paradise.”

Source: Wheelan, Joseph, Jefferson’s War: America’s First War on Terror 1801-1805, Carroll & Graf, 2004, pp. 40-41 (e.g. John Jay, President of the Continental Congress from 1778-1779 and first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court)