Who really discovered the Americas?

If you're first guess was Columbus you are utterly wrong, and please tell whoever taught you this in grade school to relearn their facts. So you may ask, then who did discover the Americas? Well, for one it was the Native Americans (DUH), and we can say the Vikings also did but the actual common era discoverers were Muslims and their West African counterparts. (And Columbus would have been swallowed in the Bermuda triangle if his Muslim navigators hadn't steered him away from that area).

Anyway, where's my proof? Well, it is in historical documents such as the map of Abul-Hassan Ali Ibn Al-Hussain Al-Masudi. His map indicates that there were several voyages and discoveries of America around 896-956, as seen here (on the bottom you can see a portion of South America):

Currently, there are Spanish documents reporting the presence of Muslims in the Americas long before Columbus.
Here is a summary of documents compiled:

"l. A Muslim historian and geographer Abul-Hassan Ali Ibn Al-Hussain Al-Masudi (871 - 957 CE) wrote in his book ‘Muruj Adh-dhahab wa Maadin al-Jawhar’ (The Meadows of Gold and Quarries of Jewels) that during the rule of the Muslim Caliph of Spain Abdullah Ibn Muhammad (888 - 912 CE), a Muslim navigator Khashkhash Ibn Saeed Ibn Aswad of Cordoba, Spain sailed from Delba (Palos) in 889 CE, crossed the Atlantic, reached an unknown territory (Ard Majhoola) and returned with fabulous treasures. In Al-Masudi's map of the world there is a large area in the ocean of darkness and fog (the Atlantic ocean) which he referred to as the unknown territory (the Americas).

2. A Muslim historian Abu Bakr Ibn Umar Al-Gutiyya narrated that during the reign of the Muslim Caliph of Spain, Hisham II (976 -1009 CE), another Muslim navigator Ibn Farrukh of Granada sailed from Kadesh (February 999 CE) into the Atlantic, landed in Gando (Great Canary Islands) visiting King Guanariga, and continued westward where he saw and named two islands, Capraria and Pluitana. He arrived back in Spain in May 999 CE.

3. Columbus sailed from Palos (Delba), Spain. He was bound for Gomera (Canary Islands) - Gomera is an Arabic word meaning ‘small firebrand’ - there he fell in love with Beatriz Bobadilla, daughter of the first captain General of the island (the family name Bobadilla is derived from the Arab Islamic name Abouabdilla). Nevertheless, the Bobadilla clan was not easy to ignore. Another Bobadilla (Francisco), later as the royal commissioner, put Columbus in chains and transferred him from Santo Domingo back to Spain (November 1500 CE). The Bobadilla family was related to Abbadid dynasty of Seville (1031 -1091 CE).

On October 12, 1492 CE, Columbus landed on a little island in the Bahamas that was called Guanahani by the natives. Renamed San Salvador by Columbus, Guanahani is derived from Mandinka and modified Arabic words. Guana (Ikhwana) means ‘brothers’ and Hani is an Arabic name. Therefore the original name of the island was ‘Hani Brothers.’

Ferdinand Columbus, the son of Christopher, wrote about the blacks seen by his father in Honduras: “The people who live farther east of Pointe Cavinas, as far as Cape Gracios a Dios, are almost black in color.” At the same time in this very same region, lived a tribe of Muslim natives known as Almamy. In Mandinka and Arabic languages Almamy was the designation of “Al-Imam” or “Al-Imamu,” the person who leads the Prayer, or in some cases, the chief of the community, and/or a member of the Imami Muslim community.

4. A renowned American historian and linguist Leo Weiner of Harvard University, in his book Africa and The Discovery of America (1920) wrote that Columbus was well aware of the Mandinka presence in the New World and that the West African Muslims had spread throughout the Caribbean, Central, South and North American territories, including Canada, where they were trading and intermarrying with the Iroquois and Algonquin Indians...."

(http://www.cyberistan.org/islamic/mamerica.html#historic)

Still not convinced? Well, let us look at a list of Native American words and American cities that have Arabic origin.

Name	Original Arabic Name	Meaning
Alabama	Allah bamya
Alhambra	al-Hamara	The Red
Almaden	al-Maydan	The Field
Alqazar	al-Qasr	The Palace
Alcantara	al-Qantarah	The Bridge
Almenara	al-Manarah	The Mosque Tower, English Minaret
Alborg	al-Burj	The Tower
Alcove	al-Qubbah	Dome
Almansil	al-Manzil	The Stopping Place
Alqueria	al-Qariyah	The Village
Almeria	al-Mirayah	The Mirror
Alpujarras	al-Bajara	The Highlands
Calahorra	Qalat al-Hajar	Castle
Cherokee	Ani'Yun'-wiya	real or principal people
Guadalquivir	Wadi al-Kabir	Great River
Guadalajara	Wadi al-Hijarah	Stony River
Taifa	Ta'ifah	Party or Faction
Alabama	Allah bamya
Andalusia	al-Andalus
Azulejo	az-Zulayj	Burnished Pebble
Alcaids	al-Qa'ids	Warden
mattress	Matrah
Sofa	Suffah	Pad
Sherbet	Sharbah	Drink

Even traditional Cherokee dress is based on Middle Eastern traditional garb.


Finally, there is a last question you may have. Why don't you know about this? Well, blame your Euro centric books and maps. You ever wonder why Europe is in the middle of the map of the world, and not any other country?
Look at these links for further information:
http://www.cyberistan.org/islamic/index.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-Columbian_Islamic_contact_theories
http://www.cambridgemuslims.info/DidYouKnow/AlMasudi/Default.htm

The Abercrombie Generation

Abercrombie & Fitch, a store that formerly sold...pretty much everything that had to do with the outdoor, certainly not an outfitter. Customers included John F. Kennedy, Theodore Roosevelt, Amelia Hart, John Steinbeck and it apparently even sold Ernest Hemingway a gun which he committed suicide with.
But by 1977, it had closed doors and declared bankruptcy...and by the 1980 polos, aviator glasses, and every preppy item had become the trend. Sort of ironic, looking at what Abercrombie sells now.
Around the mid 90s to 2000, hip hop arrived, and pretty much everything that had to do with Rock n Roll, Lacoste, and Polo Ralph Lauren died. And who apparently revived the Preppy trend? And for all of you Nantucket vacationers, New England, Polo loving preps let us not deny Abercrombie & Fitch had a role in reviving that whole culture back again. And what happened to hip hop, rap, and all of that?

Well, the rapper Nas said: "Hip hop is dead". And for my part, I blame Lil Wayne.
Anyhow, where does, Abercrombie, the 1980s and Lil Wayne have to do with each other?

It all lies, in a cultural shift initiated by Abercrombie & Fitch. I mean where did all of these brands all of a sudden pop up in malls? And i mean American Eagle Outfitters, Express, Aeropostale, or even Hollister. And when did Lacoste or Ralph Lauren get back into style?

Its all a trend, and apparently kids are spending more money to look trendy. As for me, when I was about 8 years old, I wore a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles shirt that cost around $5-15. What do kids wear now? A shirt that has a moose on the upper left side that cost about $20-30. (I personally would buy it now), but why should kids wear that, they are just going to outgrow it in a few months, and he or she will keep asking you to buy them like 4-5 outfits that they will outgrow in 6 months that will cost 400-600 bucks. People, stop spoiling your kids, and seriously, if i rock the moose and another 8-12 year old does at the same time, what's the point of me wearing it? Just another kid brand.
Here's some pictures of what kids wear in my kiddie days, and now(Yeah, not everyone was like that, but I'm talking about normal kids):
1980s-1990s kids:



The Abercrombie Generation( Yeah that's Beckham in the middle and if you look closely you'll see the Logo on his son's shirt on the left) :



Anyhow, its just another way a manufacturer is trying to make more money, and its cheapening the image of the brand. (Sigh)

The Death of Saturday Morning Cartoons

Remember these guys?

Well, back when I was a kid, every Saturday I'd remarkably wake up 6 am prompt without an alarm clock (although it was remarkably hard to wake up in the morning at 7 to go to school) , slip myself downstairs, open up the television and make myself some sugar-filled corn flakes. Afterward, I would wake up my brother and for a good four hours watch constant cartoons. From Bugs bunny to Disney's Recess to Digimon, I would obediently wake up every morning for a good 7 years of my childhood to watch my favorite cartoons.

So what happened to these times? Why can't I stand looking at one cartoon nowadays?
Well, the answer to that is the death of Saturday morning cartoons. No more good quality cartoon networks like Fox Kids, and well obviously I'm a lot older for cartoons.

But it marks an era, and it had ended in 2002, when Fox Kids sold its programming line to 4kids entertainment. Although, this looks petty, it saddens me to see such good quality animated series and cartoons vanish, I mean what are kids watching nowadays? This crap?


Anyhow, this not only is a 1990 nostalgia but also a look at a long lasting trend. Heck even Disney sold all of its original cartoon desks to make cartoons through programs like Adobe Flash. Obviously this ended drawing careers and the whole industry where thousands of kids were willing to be when they were adults. But what does this all come down to? Its not about feeling sorry for kids that watch second-rate cartoons and are deprived of what we watched as children. But also that everything is based on making profit and swaying from the original intention of making cartoons to entertain kids. And even adults alike.
Anyway that's the reason I wake up at 11 every Saturday, my biological clock ended its 6 am routine a few years ago. Heck, if they re-runned all of those cartoons, I'd still watch them.
(Sigh) Good times.

About my blog

Hello, and welcome to my blog, The Critique. In my blog I will dedicate myself to writing articles that are related to Cultural, Social, and Economic issues and trends. As for myself, I am interested in a variety of activities, and mostly reading. But, what's the point of reading if you cannot share your knowledge and opinion to the world? Please feel free to post on my blog and respond to my articles, and please keep it respectful and ABSOLUTELY NO SWEARING. Other than that, feel free to enjoy my articles and don't hesitate to share your Critique as well.

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The Critique(ist)