The Founding Fathers and the Barbary States: Establishing Religious Freedom in International Relations

FAIN: ZZ-309631-25

East-West Foundation (Slidell, LA 70461-5366)
Iqbal Akhtar (Project Director: June 2025 to present)

A conference on and publication of the translation of the Treaties with the Barbary States (1795-1836) and their significance in the early years of the United States, undertaken by the East-West Foundation in Slidell, Louisiana.

Exploring the establishment of religious freedom by the Founding Fathers through US treaties with the Barbary States. This project will focus on translation of original treaties from Arabic and Turkish to English as well as explore how religious freedom became the bedrock of US diplomacy and norms of global foreign policy over the last two and a half centuries.