In Dr. Barry Fell’s book
Saga America, he
reports that the southwest Pima people possessed a vocabulary which
contained words of Arabic origin. Dr. Fell also reports that in Inyo
County, California, there exits an early rock carving which stated in
Arabic:"Yasus ben Maria" ("Jesus, Son of Mary"). Dr. Fell discovered
the existence of Muslim schools in Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, and Indiana dating back to 700-800 CE.
By 1312,
Mansa Musa’s brother Sultan Abu Bakri II of Mali made his second
expedition on the Atlantic ocean. In 1324 on his famous journey to
Hajj, Mansa Musa reported in Cairo that his brother had left him in
charge of Mali. Anthropologists have proven that the
Mandinkas
under Abu Bakri explored many parts of North America via the
Mississippi and other river systems. At Four Corners, Arizona writings
show that they even brought elephants from Africa to the area.
In 1492,
Columbus had two captains of Muslim origin during his first voyage, one
named Martin Alonso Pinzon the captain of the Pinta, and his brother
Vicente Yanex Pinzon the captain of the Nina. They were wealthy expert
ship outfitters who helped organize Columbus’ expedition and repaired
the flagship Santa Maria. The Pinzon family was related to Abuzayan
Muhammad III, the Moroccan Sultan of the Marinid Dynasty (1196-1465).
October 21, 1492,
Columbus admitted in his papers that while his ship was sailing near
Gibara on the northeast coast of Cuba, he saw a Mosque on the top of a
beautiful mountain. Ruins of Mosques and minarets with inscriptions of
Qur’anic verses have been discovered in Cuba, Mexico, Texas, and Nevada.
In 1527,
the Spanish explorer Panfilo de Narva’ez left Spain for the Americas.
In his fleet he had five ships and six hundred people in his company.
The expedition met with many hardships. Several ships were destroyed by
a West Indies, hurricane and a group of Indians killed a large number
of the remaining members of the party. Afterward, when only a few
members of the expedition were left, Cabeza de Vaca, the former
treasurer of Narva’ez took up the leadership of the remaining members
of the party with Estevanico being among them.
Estevanico was called an Arab Negro, a Muslim who came from Azamore on
the Atlantic Coast of Morocco. He was among the first two persons to
reach the west coast of Mexico in an exploring overland expedition from
Florida to the Pacific Coast. It’s reported that Estevanico acted as a
guide and it took them nine years to reach Mexico City where they told
stories of their travels.
In 1538, Estevanico lead an expedition from Mexico with Friar Marco, in
search of the fabled Seven Cities of Cibolia, in which time he
discovered Arizona and New Mexico. He was the first member of a
different race reported to have visited the North Mexican Pueblos. He
was killed in the city of Cibolia, one of the Seven Cities of the Zuni
Indians, which is now New Mexico. Friar Marco, while following
Estevanico’s trail to Cibolia, learned of his murder from an Indian
messenger.
From 1566-1587 Spain kept and maintained a military outpost and
settlement called Santa Elena on the southern tip of Parris Island, SC.
Portuguese were known to be among the Spaniards at Santa Elena. In
Spain 1568 the Alpujarra uprising of the Moriscos (Muslims’ who were
forcibly converted to Catholicism) gave cause to another wave of
Portuguese Moriscos to leave Spain.
In 1600, the first
Melungeons
were reported in the southern Appalachian valleys. As English and
Scotch-Irish settlers moved in, they pushed the Melungeons into the
mountains of North Carolina, and into Tennessee, Kentucky, and
Virginia. The Melungeons were the first people, aside from Native
Americans to penetrate so deeply into the Appalachian region. Many of
the Melungeons were of primarily Portuguese ancestry, with North
African and Indian traits. Among the early Portuguese were the
Moriscos
of Spain who were escaping persecution. Today there are still some
Melungeons living secretively and many have assimilated into the
American culture.
The Melungeons had operated rich silver mines in the area of Straight
Creek in the Cumberland Plateau, near Pineville, Kentucky. They minted
silver coins in the area for their own use. By the time Kentucky joined
the Union and became a Commonwealth, the independent secretive life of
the Melungeons came to an end.
In 1600, The Indians told Jamestown residents that with only a six-day
walk to the west, there were"people like you," who wore their hair
short and built log houses.
In 1639, The First black recorded by name on the Delmar va Peninsula
was called Anthony. He was delivered near present day Wilmington. He
was often described as"an Angoler or Moor," and called"Blackamoor."
From the"Delaware’s Forgotten Folk" The Story of the Moors &
Nanticokes by C.A. Weslager
In 1654, English explorers from Jamestown reported finding a colony of
bearded people"Moors" wearing European clothing, living in cabins
engaging in mining, smelting silver and dropping to their knees to pray
many times daily in the mountains of what is now, North Carolina.
In 1670, Virginia General Assembly 1670 Act declared who will be
slaves, excluding Turks & Moors, whose countries were in amity with
the King of England. Page 491 of Virginia General Assembly 1733 and
1752 records.
In 1684,
Moors are reported to have arrived in Delaware near Dover, and in Southern New Jersey near Bridgeton.
The descendants of many of the Muslim visitors of North America are
members in many of our present day Indian tribes. Some of the tribes
are the Alibamu tribe of Alabama, the Apaches, Anasazi, Arawak,
Arikana, the Black Indians of the Schuylkill River area in New York,
the Cherokees, Creeks, the Makkahs, Mahigans, Mohanets, the Nanticokes,
the Seminoles, the Zulus, and the Zuni.
Many other Muslims and their descendants came to America’s shores after
being marooned, such as the Moors of Delaware near Dover, and of
Southern New Jersey near Bridgeton, and in parts of Southern Maryland;
the Melungeons of Tennessee and Virginia; the Guineas of West Virginia;
the Clappers of New York; the Turks of South Carolina; and the Laster
Tribe near Hertford, NC. It is reported that the Laster Tribe was
descendants from a Moorish captain who married a white woman and
settled in the area.
There are more than 500 names of places, villages, streets, towns,
cities, lakes, rivers, etc . . . in the United States which are derived
from Islamic and Arabic roots. Like Mecca, Indiana; Medina, N Y;
Medina, OH; Medina, TX; Toledo, OH; Mahomet, IL; Islamorada, FL, and
Tallahassee, FL.
