Muslims In The Americas Before Columbus

by Dr. Youssef Mrouch

by John White and Jim Leslie

Originally published in the MES Journal

This is a news summary of an internet article discovered by Jim Leslie. Our previous knowledge of Muslim diffusion was limited to the translations of Arabic inscriptions described in the excellent book Saga America published by Barry Fell in 1980. The MES also reported Ivan Van Sertima’s findings on West African visitors to the Caribbean in MEJ 20, 2006 and in MENL 25(2), 2008. Some claims are:

1. Al-Masudi (871-957 CE) wrote that Khashkhash Ibn Saced Ibn Aswad in 889 CE sailed west from Spain and returned with treasure.

2. Al-Guityya wrote that Ibn Farrukh in 999 CE sailed westward from the Canaries and named two islands in the Atlantic before returning.

3. Francisco Bobadilla of the Canary Islands put Columbus in chains and returned him to Spain in November 1500 CE.

4. Ferdinand Columbus wrote of his father seeing blacks in Honduras, and Dr. Mrouch states that a Muslim tribe known as the Almamy were living there at that time.

We also looked for other internet evidence on this subject and found the following:

5. Moin Ansari reviewed the book by Abdullah Hakim Quick, Before Columbus: Muslims in the Caribbean published on 9/24/2007.

6. The website Muslims in America claims that Columbus wrote he saw a mosque in Cuba on a mountain near Gibara. Research shows that Martin Alonso Pinzon, captain of ship Pinta, and his brother Vincente Yanex Pinzon, captain of ship Nina, had Muslim heritage.

For More information:

http://news.yahoo.com/erdogan-says-muslims-not-columbus-discovered-americas-162759161.html PUBLISHED 11-16-14

http://www.cyberistan.org/islamic/mamerica.html

http://www.cyberistan.org/islamic/latintr1.html#masudi

http://www.cyberistan.org/islamic/places2.html

http://www.caribbeanmuslims.com/articles/13/1/Muslims-in-the-Caribbean-Before-Columbus/Page1.html

http://historyofislam.com/contents/the-classical-period/the-african-and-muslim-discovery-of-america-before-columbus/

Deeper Roots: Muslims in the Americas and the Caribbean Before Columbus

Abdullah Hakim Quick

Very little mention is made of the Muslim presence in the Americas and Caribbean until the 19th century, despite the fact that there has been a Muslim presence in this region for over one thousand years.

This work is an attempt to dispel some of the misconceptions about Islamic history in theAmericas and to help put into perspective the actual achievements and travels of Muslim explorers, merchants and settlers. Using the most authentic historical sources, Dr. Abdullah Hakim Quick proves that Muslims played a significant role in the West long before European explorers.

He also reveals how Muslims fought for freedom during the slavery period and how even today Islamic roots can be seen in the names and ancestry of People living in America and the Caribbean. (Write up courtesy of Vinylandbookstore)