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Those of us who have read about the Sung Document and how Chinese Muslim Sailors first discovered American in 1178 would be astounded that such history wasn’t included in American text books. Yet it is more conclusive that a traveler by the name of Zheng He discovered America 71 years before Columbus. If America was discovered by Muslims than it has shown little impact on how the country developed. However it is important for historical sake to understand what the Sung document is and when Zheng He imparted on his great expedition. The Sung Document is the work of a Chinese author Circa in the year of 1178. It describes how Muslim sailors discovered a region they termed “Mu-Lan-Pi”. Mu-Lan-Pi is believe by many Muslims to be America discovered many hundreds of years before Columbus had even set out towards the West. The second indication that Muslims discovered America was through Zheng He a Muslim explorer would prepare for his voyages by recruiting in the provinces of Fujian, Guangdong and Zhejiang in order to select the best Muslim sailors. Then Zheng He would travel to the province of Quazhou and pray at the local mosque for a safe and successful journey. With his Muslim sailors he loaded his boats and set upon his expeditions. British marine historian Gavin Manzies shows in his book " 1421 - The year China discovered America" that Cheng He had actually beat Columbus by 71 years. By 1513 Piri Muhyid Din Re’is’s map showed America in its entirety. In the ancient days Muslims were known for the seafaring abilities with their wide experience in travel. Many believe that the Muslims at this time had the ability to travel great distances and return safely with their triangle shaped sales. They utilized innovative designs in their boats so that they could zig zag against the wind. Thus they were in demand by major monarchs of the world. Colonel Kennon a sailing historian states, “From what I know of the track across from Asia to America, and from what I have seen of the Japanese and Chinese, I have no doubt whatever that from very early times they occasionally visited our American shores(Kennon, 2005).” And A Ship travelling “to the Bay of St Lawrence in Siberia, would have, at the utmost, only a day's sail, but probably less, to reach America; and by going that distance farther north, her crew could see land across Behring's Straits through the whole passage during the summer season, it being then free from ice, with an open sea and a moderate degree of cold.” Thus prior significant parchments of the Sung documents, Piri Muhyid Din Re’is’s map and the work of historian Gavin Manzies all give historical and documented accounts of Muslim sailors and their discovery of America. The high probability of Colonel Kennon’s analysis that Chinese and Japanese sailors could have crossed the Behring's Straits in a day’s time lends more credibility to the theory. Yet the game of world history is political by nature and to transfer the glory of Columbus to Zheng He (the Muslim) would fly in the face of current political realities. Murad Ali is a doctoral candidate, the owner of the Muslim Times at http://www.themuslimtimes.com , a consultant, two-time published author and a employment relations specialist.
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Muslim, America, Discover, China, Columbus,
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