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Was Symbol on Outhouse Door First Sign of Americans’ Anger?

by BMCWrites | March 30, 2009 at 09:58 am

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Over the weekend, I came up with a new reason to believe the appearance of the crescent moon and star symbol on outhouse doors in America during the early 19th century may have been the first visible sign of how many Americans felt -- and, indeed, still feel -- toward radical Muslims.

This news comes two years after I published a post in which I noted how the symbol that appears on the flags of no fewer than 11 Muslim countries appears remarkably similar to the cutouts that appeared on the doors of old-fashioned outhouses (see photo). Below are two key pieces of research that appeared in that post:

“The crescent moon cutout and the star cutout on the door of many (American) outhouses goes back to Colonial times,” according to the folks at Outhouse Graffiti, individuals who stand among the nation’s foremost authorities on the history of outdoor facilities (a.k.a., “one-holers,” “two-holers,” “privies” and “crappers”); and

A University of Rochester Department of Religion web site provides background about the relationship of the crescent moon symbol to Islam that includes, but is not limited to, the following: “The Crescent moon, often with a five- or six-pointed star, became a prominent symbol for Islam early in the 19th century” and “…the crescent moon is the universal symbol of Islam.”

What I had not considered at the time was the fact that the so-called "Barbary Pirates" were Muslim pirates and privateers who operated from North Africa from the time of the Crusades (11th century) until the early 19th century. Those pirates gave Americans more than enough reason to be upset with them, not the least of which was their affinity toward commandeering U.S. ships and doing horrendous things to those on board.

For those reasons, I came to the conclusion that it was the early Americans' dislike of the Barbary Pirates that prompted them to put the crescent moon and star symbol on the doors of their outhouses.

-- Bob McCarty Writes

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Roy C

at 10:17 on March 30th, 2009

I think that it might have more to do with evening and morning stars such as Venus, that you might see while the moon was out, and was what you might see using an outhouse, first thing in the morning or last thing at night before going to bed.

The Barbary pirates thing was over and done with rather quickly.

WikiAnswers: a symbol of Islamic identity in common usage. However, this symbol did not, in fact, rise from religious sources. This symbol first came into use with Muslims when the Turks conquered Constantinople. The crescent symbol was popular among the Byzantines then and the Turks later adopted it. Different countries have since used the symbol to indicate Muslim origins, etc., attributing various meanings to the crescent and star.

BMCWrites

at 12:50 on March 30th, 2009

Roy,

You are wrong, and Rene is correct. The Barbary Pirates pestered the world's seafarers from the 11th century until the early 19th century.

René

at 12:06 on March 30th, 2009

America's war with the Barbary Pirates was not over with quickly. In fact two wars were fought, the first from 1801-1805, and the second in 1815. Before that, after losing Britain's protection from the pirates, the USA actually paid tribute to be left alone, though that did not deter the pirates.

Jefferson and the Pirates.