Well we already knew Columbus DIDN’T discover America.
Turkish President Says Muslims, Not Columbus, Discovered America
Turkey’s President wants the world to know that Muslims had a place in the Americas long before Christopher Columbus paved the way for colonization.
Via NY Post reports:
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke Saturday in Istanbul at a summit comprised of Muslim leaders from Latin America and claimed that Islamic sailors stumbled upon the New World more than 300 years before the famed Italian made landfall.
“Muslims discovered America in 1178, not Christopher Columbus,” he said, according to the Daily Mail. “Contacts between Latin America and Islam date back to the 12th century. Columbus mentioned the existence of a mosque on a hill on the Cuban coast.”
The Spanish-employed sailor did speak of a mosque in his personal diary, which was published in 1996, but the notion has been widely considered to be a misunderstanding and should instead be viewed as a metaphor for the shape of the landscape.
The fact that no Islamic structures have been unearthed that pre-date Columbus also debunks Erdogan’s claims.
Despite this, the Turkish leader proudly disregarded Columbus’ purported discovery of America in 1492 and preached that a link should instead be established between Muslims and the Latin American people.
“I would like to talk about it to my Cuban brothers,” he added. “A mosque would go perfectly on the hill today.”
Do you think his theory holds water?
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