Erdogan Says Muslims, not Columbus, Discovered Americas

إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية W460

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday that the Americas were discovered by Muslims in the 12th century, nearly three centuries before Christopher Columbus set foot there.

"Contacts between Latin America and Islam date back to the 12th century. Muslims discovered America in 1178, not Christopher Columbus," the conservative president said in a televised speech during an Istanbul summit of Muslim leaders from Latin America.

"Muslim sailors arrived in America from 1178. Columbus mentioned the existence of a mosque on a hill on the Cuban coast," Erdogan said.

Erdogan said that Ankara was even prepared to build a mosque at the site mentioned by the Genoese explorer.

"I would like to talk about it to my Cuban brothers. A mosque would go perfectly on the hill today," the Turkish leader said.

History books say that Columbus set foot on the American continent in 1492 as he was seeking a new maritime route to India.

A tiny minority of Muslim scholars have recently suggested a prior Muslim presence in the Americas, although no pre-Columbian ruin of an Islamic structure has ever been found.

In a controversial article published in 1996, historian Youssef Mroueh refers to a diary entry from Columbus that mentions a mosque in Cuba. But the passage is widely understood to be a metaphorical reference to the shape of the landscape.

Comments 6
Default-user-icon caps (Guest) 15 November 2014, 18:12

and Turkey belongs to Orthodoxy and not islam you retard

Thumb -phoenix1 15 November 2014, 18:20

Sure Mr. Erdogan, and Turkey landed in Mars ten years ago. Now they've 100's of Kofta stalls there selling with hot Turkish tea as well. Silly fool you are.

Thumb al.finique 15 November 2014, 18:26

Bro, I couldn't have said it better. We the Lebanese are the most intelligent creatures the gods ever created, bro.

Thumb smarty 15 November 2014, 20:27

Why would a Persian care about Phoenicia? Such an incongruity!

Thumb theresistance4.0 16 November 2014, 01:47

Better a Persian whom founded civilizations and empires that have lasted THOUSANDS of years then a DIRTY SAUDI who takes his whipping orders from his masters! Run along child I dont get into debates with ignorant inbred WAHHABIS have a nice day dum dum :)

Thumb Maxx 16 November 2014, 15:16

Maxx to Erdogan: I don't know if the Turks discovered America, but I do know they massacred 1.5 million Armenians between 1915 and 1923.