Jefferson's Quran

Christopher Hitchens has taken some stretches with his arguments defending the invasion of Iraq and attempting to expose the threat of militant factions Islamic factions, mostly when he has been in the midst of public debate, which is perhaps understandable. When he sits down to tackle history, however, he is often fascinating and displays some truly original scholarship.

A recent application of his efforts appears in today's Slate magazine where he tackles the. likely, unknown history of Thomas Jefferson's approach to issues of faith and the public expression of religion.

It was quite witty of Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., to short-circuit the hostility of those who criticized him for taking his oath on the Quran and to ask the Library of Congress for the loan of Thomas Jefferson's copy of that holy book. But the irony of this, which certainly made his stupid Christian fundamentalist critics look even stupider, ought to be partly at his own expense as well.

- Murphy