Turkey President Claims Muslims Discovered America

“Muslims discovered the Americas, not Columbus — or at least that’s what the president of Turkey wants people to believe,” the New York Post reports.

Said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan: “Muslims discovered America in 1178, not Christopher Columbus. 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.”