”314 years before Columbus”? - Living, Loving, Thinking, Again

『ガーディアン』（Associated Press）の記事；

Muslims discovered America, says Turkish president
Recep Tayyip Erdogan claims Muslim sailors reached the American continent in 1178 – exactly 314 years before Columbus

Associated Press in Istanbul
The Guardian, Sunday 16 November 2014 14.29 GMT

The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has claimed that Muslim sailors reached the Americas more than 300 years before explorer Christopher Columbus.
Speaking on Saturday at a gathering of Muslim leaders from Latin America, Erdogan said contact between Islam and Latin America dated back to the 12th century.
“It is alleged that the American continent was discovered by Columbus in 1492,” Erdogan said. “In fact, Muslim sailors reached the American continent 314 years before Columbus, in 1178.”
“In his memoirs, Christopher Columbus mentions the existence of a mosque atop a hill on the coast of Cuba,” Erdogan said, adding that he’d like to see a mosque built on the hilltop today.
Scholars have disputed the claim in Columbus’s writings, saying there is no archaeological evidence of Muslims having lived in the Americas before Columbus, an Italian, made his expedition in 1492 on behalf of the Spanish crown.
Who discovered the Americas has long been a controversial issue with various scholars and historians claiming that others arrived before Columbus*1.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/16/muslims-discovered-america-erdogan-christopher-columbus

トンデモの極致なのか歴史的真実なのか。「1178年」という具体的な年号が言及されているけど、その典拠は何？　コロンブスが（現在の）キューバで「モスク」を見た云々というのは、コロンブスに先立って鄭和 *2がアメリカを「発見」したということにすれば矛盾はなくなる。鄭和は中国人であるとともにムスリムだったからだ。ただし、鄭和新大陸到達説のトンデモ度はかなり高いわけだが。

*1:See Simon Jenkins “Of course the Chinese didn't discover America. But then nor did Columbus” http://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/jan/20/china.usa