Turkish president claims Muslim sailors reached Americas 300 years before Columbus

COLOGNE, GERMANY - MAY 24: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks to Turkish expatriates at an event to mark the 10th anniversary of the UETD, the Union of European Turkish Democrats, at the Lanxess Arena on May 24, 2014 in Cologne, Germany. Erdogan faces Turkish presidential elections in August and his critics have lambasted him for his handling of the recent mine catastrophe at Soma. (Photo by Sascha Schuermann/Getty Images) (2014 Getty Images)

ISTANBUL (AP) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is claiming that Muslim sailors reached the Americas more than 300 years before explorer Christopher Columbus.

Speaking Saturday at a gathering of Muslim leaders from Latin America, Erdogan said that contact between Islam and Latin America dates 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' 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.

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