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Islam and Muslims in America before Columbus - The Fountain Magazine 6/29/18, 1)37 PM
According to Salvatore Michael Trento, former director of the Center for Archeological
Research in Middletown, New York, before embarking on his first voyage to America,
Columbus had read the book of Roger Bacon of Oxford University, which comprised
information, compiled from a variety of Arabic resources, about geographical regions on the
other side of the Atlantic; hence Columbus’ previous knowledge of the islands in the Atlantic
Ocean and other places.1
The Arabs, according to the findings of Professor Fell, settled in Nevada during the seventh
and eighth centuries. The earlier existence of a school, which taught Islam and science,
particularly navigation, has come to light following the archeological investigation undertaken
by Professors Heizer and Baumhoff of California University around site WA 25 in Nevada. The
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excavations in Nevada have uncovered writings in Naskhi Arabic and Cufic style that are
inscribed on rocks which carry information about this school (picture 3). The application of the
mathematical formula “five diamonds equal an alif” (alif is the first letter of Arabic alphabet)
may be seen in this picture (pictures 3b and 3c). The Arabic letters in pictures 3b and 3c,
found amid excavations in Nevada, are in exactly the same style as North African Arabic.
Again similarly, another rock was found in Nevada bearing the name “God”, the style of which
is yet again reminiscent of the prevalent technique of seventh and eighth-century North
Africa. The calligraphical similarities between various writing styles of the Prophet’s name over
diverse periods, particularly those relating to Africa and America, found during archeological
investigations are striking indeed. Figure A of picture 4 was found in al-Ain Lahag, Morocco
and figure B in East Walker River; both are currently at the University of California. Figure C
was discovered in Nevada and figures C and D were located in Churchill County and are also
currently preserved at the University of California; likewise figure F was discovered in al-Haji
Minoun, Morocco, while figure G, inscribed on ceramic, was revealed in al-Suk, Tripoli, Libya
and figure H, at the University of California, was discovered at Cottonwood Canyon, while
finally figure I was located on the border of Morocco and Libya. All these inscriptions belong to
the eighth and ninth centuries, clearly illustrating the resemblance in style between North
America and North Africa, as well as overtly suggesting a migration that occurred from Africa
to America.
3. In the twelfth century the Athapcan Tribe, comprised of native Apaches and Navajos, raided
the area inhabited by the Arabs, who either ended up fleeing or were exiled toward the South.
These illiterate natives were spellbound by the schools founded by the Arabs, and, perhaps
with the assistance of captives, attempted to imitate the same subjects, transforming the
geometrical shapes into mythical beasts, which carried on for centuries.
4. Picture 5 is the Cufic writing found in 1951 in the White Mountains, close to the town of
Benton on the border of Nevada. The words Shaytan maha mayan, i.e. the Devil is the source
of all lies, have been written in a Cufic style peculiar to the seventh century.
5. Once more, a rock inscription belonging to post-650 CE, bearing the Cufic letters H-M-I-D
of the word Hamid (picture 6), is another Arabic script discovered on the Atlata rocks in the
Valley of Fire in Nevada.
6. While traveling from Malden to Cambridge in the state of Massachusetts in 1787 (on what
is now RT. 16), the Reverend Thaddeus Mason Harris noticed some coins discovered by
workers during road construction. The workers, not putting much value on these coins,
presented him with a handful. Consequently, Harris decided to send these coins to the library
of Harvard College for examination (picture 7). The study yielded that these were in fact
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Samarqand dirhams from the eighth and ninth centuries. As can be seen in the picture, the
coins manifestly display the inscriptions La ilaha ill-Allah Muhammadun Rasulullah (There is
no deity but God, and Muhammad is His Messenger) and Bismillah (in the name of God).
7. Picture 8 shows a piece of rock discovered in a cave in the region of Corinto in El Salvador,
bearing the inscription Malaka Haji mi Malaya; this has been identified as belonging to the
thirteenth century, suggesting a possible arrival of Muslims in South America, perhaps coming
from somewhere near Indonesia.
7. During his second voyage, Columbus was told by the natives of Espanola (Haiti) of black
men who had appeared on the island before him and they showed him the lances that had
been left there by these Africans to support their assertions. The tips of the lances were of a
metal, an alloy of gold, which they called guanin, a word which is semantically remarkably
similar to the Arabic word ghina, meaning richness. Columbus had in fact brought some of this
guanin back to Spain, recording that it was composed of 56.25% gold, 18.75% silver and 25%
copper, ratios that were prevalent in African Guinea as standards for the processing of metals.
8. On his third voyage to the New World, Columbus visited Trinidad, where the sailors noticed
the symmetrically patterned cotton and colorful handkerchiefs of the natives. Afterward,
Columbus realized that the handkerchiefs, which the natives called almayzar, were all much
the same in color, style, and use as the headscarves and waist bands used in Guinea. The
word almayzar is Arabic, and denotes a cover, tie, apron, or skirt, and is a component of the
regional costumes of the Moors, Arabs and, Berbers of North Africa, who had conquered
Spain in the eighth century. Columbus observed that the local women wore cotton garments
and wrote in astonishment that they had learned of the concept namus, i.e. chastity. In much
the same vein, Hernan Cortes, another Spanish explorer, later recorded that the clothing of
local women consisted of long veils and skirts decorated with ornaments that were similar to
those of the Moors. Ferdinand, Columbus’ son, was also quick to notice the resemblance
between the cotton dresses of the natives and the ornamented shawls fashioned by Moorish
women in Granada. The cradles used by the natives, furthermore, very closely resembled
those of North Africa.
9. Columbus recorded on 21 October 1492 that he had noticed a mosque on top of a
mountain while sailing around Cibara on the northeast coast of Cuba. Relics of mosques
carrying Qur’anic inscriptions on their minarets have been found in Cuba, Mexico, Texas, and
Nevada since these times.
10. Leo Weiner, a well-known Harvard historian and linguist, stated in his book The Discovery
of Africa and America, written in 1920, that Columbus was aware of the existence of
Mandinka, an ethnic group of West Africa, in the New World. The same book also affirms that
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Columbus was aware that West African Muslims were living across North America, including
the south, middle regions and Canada, as well as in the Caribbean, and that they had marital
and commercial ties with the native tribes of Iroque and Algonquin.
11. A preponderance of the voyages embarked upon by Columbus and other Spanish and
Portuguese explorers toward the other side of the Atlantic were undertaken only in the light of
the geographical and navigational knowledge prepared by Muslims. Al-Masudi’s (871-957 CE)
work Muruj’uz-Zahab, for instance, was written with this sort of data compiled by Muslim
traders from across Africa and Asia. Two of Columbus’ captains on the first voyage, in actual
fact, were Muslims: Martin Alonso Pinzon was in charge of the Pinta, while his brother Vicente
Yanez Pinzon was the designated captain of Nina; both were from the Moroccan Marinid
dynasty, descendants of Sultan Abu Zayan Muhammad III (r. 1362-1366). Formerly well-to-do
ship riggers, they assisted Columbus in organizing his voyage of exploration, preparing the
Santa Maria, the flagship, and covering all its expenses.
12. Christopher Columbus has recorded the custom of nose piercing, which used to be and
still popular in the Middle Eastern and Arab countries, as being prevalent in some islands
across the Atlantic also mentions the writing of letters in Arabic.
13. In the account of sixteenth century missionaries in America, the local copper mines, found
particularly in Virginia, Tennessee, and Wisconsin were not operated by the natives, but
instead by people from the Middle East, towards whom the natives nurtured a profound
sympathy.
14. A sum of 565 names, 484 in America and 81 in Canada, of villages, towns, cities,
mountains, lakes, rivers and etcetera, are etymologically Arabic, designated by locals long
before the arrival of Columbus. Many of these names are in fact the same as names of Islamic
places; Mecca in Indiana, Medina in Idaho, Medina in New York, Medina and Hazen in North
Dakota, Medina in Ohio, Medina in Tennessee, Medina in Texas, Medina and Arva in Ontario,
Mahomet in Illinois and Mona in Utah, are just a few noticeable names at the outset. A closer
analysis of the names of native tribes will immediately reveal their Arabic etymological
ancestry; Anasazi, Apache, Arawak, Arikana, Chavin, Cherokee, Cree, Hohokam, Hupa, Hopi,
Makkah, Mohician, Mohawk, Nazca, Zulu, and Zuni are only a few.
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Castle of Montezuma discovered in Arizona and the remnants found in Mesa Verde in
Colorado and the general structure of Berber buildings (picture 11-12).
The research undertaken by Professor Cyrus Thomas of the Smithsonian Institute shows that
a small cabin built from piles of rock found in Ellenville, New York is virtually the same as the
cabin, again of rock, found around Aqabah, Southern Arabia, both of which are thought to
have been built around the start of the eighth century (picture 13).
Arabic words prevalent among natives prior to the arrival of Eu ropeans
The pervasiveness of many Islamic words across the continent prior to European influx is
verified by the following terms discovered in the regions currently known as New England and
Nova Scotia, in America and Canada respectively. Fell pointed to some words as example of
Arabic influence on Native Americans. All of the words listed below are derived from the
Arabic language. However, time had eroded their original meanings and most are not used in
Arabic today.
The last Muslim stronghold in Spain, Granada, fell just before the Spanish Inquisition was
established in 1492. Non-Christians were forced to either convert to Catholicism to save
themselves from the tyranny of the Inquisition or were exiled from the country. Documents
exist which prove the existence of immigrant Muslims in Spanish America before 1550. In
1539 an edict from Spanish King Charles V was put into practice which forbade the
immigration of Muslims to settlements in the West. This edict was later expanded to expel all
Muslims from overseas Spanish colonies in 1543. The existence of Muslims in overseas islands
and regions was known along with the fact that the Spanish king issued such an edict. Again,
in many Islamic sources, it is noted that Muslims living in Spain and North Africa made
overseas voyages during the Andalusia period. Scientific research on this subject will bring out
many documents into the daylight, documents which have escaped the notice of both Muslims
in America and those throughout the world, which will perhaps serve, in the future if not
immediately, as a starting point for a re-evaluation of the history of America.
Notes
1. Trento, Salvatore Michael. The Search for Lost America, p.15 Penguin Books, New York:
1978.
2. Fell, Dr. Barry. Saga America, p. 190, Time Books, New York: 1980.
3. ibid. p. xiv.
4. ibid. pp. 332-333.
5. ibid. pp. 333-334.
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6 ibid. p. 182.
7. ibid. p. 243.
8. ibid. p. 26.
6. ibid. p. 276.
7. Teacher, John Boyd. Christopher Columbus, p. 380, New York: 1950.
8. Columbus, Ferdinand. The Life of Admiral Christopher Columbus, p. 232 Rutgers Uni. Press,
1959.
9. Obregon, Mauricio. The Columbus Papers, The Barcelona Letter of 1493.
10. The Landfall Controversy, and the Indian Guides, McMillan Co., New York: 1991.
11. Weiner, Dr. Leo. Africa and the Discovery of America, Vol.2 p. 365-366 Philadelphia: 1920.
12. Obregon, 1493.
13. Trento, 1978, p. 23.
14. ibid. p. 29.
15. ibid. p. 65.
16. Fell, 1980. 250-252.
17. Trento, 1978, p. 15.
18. Fell, 1980. p. 400-403.
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