Islam In America B4 Columbus

[Suhail]

i was wondering whether islam spread to latin america and that area b4 christopher columbus "discovered" it way back ............


give me your thoughts

[Muslimah]

Mash aAllah good idea hope members start their research

[radiyah]

Alsalam 'alaykom.


I think maybe yes, becasue if u saw one of my very old threads I mentioned that the cherokee red indians were muslims, and that muslim travellers were there before columbus.


http://www.islamsms.com/bb/index.php?showtopic=864


and I think that there was one member here who reverted to Islam brother malik, who was from brazil I think , and he said that he digged up his old roots to discover he was a muslim! was it him or another member, remind me sister muslimah.


and on another thread I put more links about this , now let me remember which one was that?? found it "sheikh Ahmad yaseen killed....:


http://www.islamsms.com/bb/index.php?s...opic=1374&st=30


check it out u will find more links about the islam existance in the americans before columbus


I hope this will help u brother suheil


wasalam alaykom wa rahmat Allah

[Senorita]

http://www.inthesetimes.com/issue/26/21/feature1.shtml


<b>Muslims in America & the Caribbean - years before Columbus </b>


The history of Islam and Muslim people in the Caribbean sketches back over one thousand years, predating European contact by over six centuries. New researches are revealing evidence leading to the presence of Muslims in the ancient Americas long before the voyages of Columbus in fifteenth century says Muhammad Yasin Khan.


Muslims were probably one of the most important contact people between the two worlds with the exchange of knowledge agricultural products, livestock and other commercial items. A number of sculptures, oral traditions, eye witness reports, artefacts, and inscriptions have been sighted to confirm this.


A report in "Before Columbus" by Cyrus Gordon describes coins found in the southern Caribbean region off the coast of Venezuela. Two of these coins are Arabic of the eighth century CE.


The author infers that a Moorish ship perhaps from Spain or North Africa seem to have crossed the Atlantic around 800 CE. In Mutirj adh-Dhahab, Al Mas'udi, in the year 956 CE, wrote about a young man of Cordoba in Spain named Kashkash lbn Saeed ibn Aswad who crossed the Atlantic Ocean and returned in the year 889 CE.


A narration by Abu Bakr b 'Umar al Qutiyya relates the story of Ibn Farrukh who landed in February 999 CE in Gando (Great Canary), visited King Guanariga and continued his journey westwards till he found islands he called Capraria and Phitana. Al-Sharif al-ldrisi (1097- 1155 CE) the famous Arab geographer reported in his extensive work "The Geography of Al Idrisi" in the twelfth century, on the journey of a group of North African seamen who reached the Americas. Al-Idrisi recorded that after captivity for three days a translator came speaking the Arabic language and translated for the King and questioned them about their mission. This astonishing historical report clearly confirms the fact that the contact between the two worlds had been so involved that the native people could speak Arabic!


In October 1929CE, a map in parchment was discovered in the library of Serallo in the city of Istanbul made in Muharram 919 AH (March, 1513 C.E.). This map represented the western zone of the world. It comprised the Atlantic Ocean with America and the western rim of the world. The other parts of the world, which undoubtedly the map also included, have been lost.


Despite the numerous voyages taken by the Muslims of Spain and North Africa, their contact remained limited and fairly secretive. The most significant wave of Muslim explorers and traders came from the West African Islamic Empire of Mali. When Mansa Musa, the world renowned ruler of Mali, was en route to Makkah during his famous pilgrimage in 1324, he informed the scholars of Cairo that his predecessor had undertaken two expeditions (the first with two hundred ships and the second with two thousand ships) into the Atlantic Ocean in order to discover its limits. This is reported by Al'Umari in his "Masalik al-Absar fi Mamalik al-Amsar."


The renowned American historian and linguist, Leo Weiner of Harvard University in 1920CE wrote a controversial, but well documented work entitled "Africa and the Discovery of America". He proved in it, that Columbus was well aware of the Mandinka presence and that the West African Muslims had not only spread throughout the Caribbean, Central and South America, but they reached Canada and were trading and intermarrying with the Iroquois and Algonquin Indian nations!


Numerous cultural evidences of Mandinka presence has been established in Brazil, Peru, Panama Nicaragua, Honduras, Mexico, Mississippi and Arizona. In the "Daily Clarion" of Belize on November 5, 1946, P V Ramos in an article entitled "History of the Caribs" wrote:


"When Christopher Columbus discovered the West Indies about the year 1493 CE he found there a race of white people (i.e. half-breeds) with woolly hair whom he called Caribs. They were seafaring hunters and tillers of soil, peaceful and united. They hated aggression. Their religion was Mohammedanism and their language Arabic".


This reveals another part of the pre-Columbian African hereditary legacy left with the Carib people from whose name we derive the word "Caribbean."


The second presence of Muslims were slaves kidnapped by or sold to European slave traders and transported from West Africa to a "New World" of oppression and inhumanity. Over 300 year period millions of slaves were transported in what must be one of the most barbarous and atrocious episodes in human history. The fact that many of these slaves were Muslims is usually ignored. Many of them came from the predominantly Muslim African nations such as the Mandinka, the Fula, the Susu and the Hausa and there are indications that some of them were distinguished scholars of Islam.


Despite the inhuman system of slavery in the Americas and the forced separation from Islamic lands and culture, there are scores of reports of Muslim slaves maintaining a form of their faith, leading slave revolts and in some cases regaining their freedom and returning to Africa. The leading force among the Muslim African slaves were the Mandinka known in Americas as "Mandingo." They were found in considerable numbers in Jamaica, Trinidad, St Vincent, Venezuela and other Caribbean nations.


Alex Haley in his book "Roots" recreates graphically the story of his Muslim ancestor Kunta Kinte who was kidnapped, sold and transported to the Americas. Besides exposing the atrocities and cultural genocide perpetrated by the "civilised" European colonisers and the manner in which Christianity was used to subjugate and pacify slaves in the interest of the plantation exploiters Haley’s work also show the attempts made by the slaves to cling to their Islamic culture and heritage and the impact of this legacy on the author himself.


In Jamaica, special magistrate Robert R Madden, one of six special magistrates sent to the island in 1833 CE by the British government recorded not only the presence of a considerable amount of Muslims in Jamaica, but also found them to be generally literate, independent and "rebellious." In his book "A Twelve Months Residence in the West Indies during transition from Slavery to Apprenticeship" Madden narrates the moving stories of Anna Moos a and Abu Bakr Sadiqa who persisted in maintaining their Islamic faith under adverse and hostile conditions. Abu Bakr, Anna Moosa and others had formed a society and requested Madden to assist them in developing African schools for African people in Kingston


In Trinidad, the African Muslims not only formed a "Mandingo society" but established schools in Port of Spain. They were led by one Jonas Mohammed Bath. Others settled in south Trinidad and in Monsamilla in the Northeast. They were given lands and developed plantations of their own. They made great economic strides and petitioned the British government to repatriate them to Africa.


One of the petitions addressed to William IV, King of Great Britain and Ireland, began with the phrase "Allahuma Sallee 'ala Muhammad" (O Allah, bless Muhammad). It explained that the petitioners were followers of Muhammad (pbuh), the Messenger of Allah, and that they did not waste their wealth on intoxicants as other slaves were accustomed to.


There is ample evidence to indicate that African Muslims in the Caribbean were at the foremost of the struggle to resist slavery. In Jamaica, R Madden was also informed about a paper (Wathiqah) written in Africa in 1789 CE "which exhorted all of the followers of Muhammad to be true and faithful if they wish to enter Paradise."


A Jihad called the "Great Slave Rebellion" of 1834 CE broke out in Manchester. The documents had to be destroyed in the heat of the rebellion but the spirit of resistance continued to be rekindled in the heats of slaves. In Haiti, from 1753 to 1757, Mackandal, a Muslim religious leader led numerous raids against the plantation owners. Mackandal's campaign lead directly to the Haitian Revolution in 1791 led by Toussaint L'Ouverture.


In Brazil the slave uprisings and rebellions between 1807 and 1835 have been substantiated as being a well-organised Jihad by Hausas who were resisting "the enslavement of Allah's children by Christians." The Jihads hastened the process of abolishing slavery in Brazil.


The "Bush Negros" in Surinam, led by Arabi and Zam-Zam, defeated the Dutch on many occasions and were finally given a treaty and their own territory (near French Guyana) which they control until today.


All these Muslim groups have been submerged almost without trace. The near elimination of Islam among African slaves has been one of the major "achievements" of European colonialism and Christian missionaries.


Between 1838 and 1924 a new element was introduced through the process of indentureship into the Caribbean population. Nearly half a million "East Indians" as they were called entered the region, mainly in Guyana, Trinidad and Surinam but also in Guadeloupe, Martinique, Jamaica, St Lucia, St Vincent and Grenada.


Nine-tenths of the indentured Indian immigrants were from the Ganges river basin and embarked at Calcutta with the rest coming from Madras, southern India. One out of six was a Muslim the rest mostly Hindus. The Spanish brought in Chinese contract workers into Cuba and the Dutch introduced workers front the Netherland Indies, principally Java. The latter who were mainly Muslims were taken to Surinam.


Despite clear conditions and a commission of enforcement the indentured labourers were severely abused and exploited. The conditions under the indentureship .system and on the plantations - long working hours, low wages, the discouraging and even hostile attitude on the part of plantation owners and Christian missionaries - did not afford much opportunity for community development. In actuality, the living conditions were very similar to that of the slaves and harsh treatment was- common throughout the territories.


The Indian Muslims had come, primarily, from the illiterate class and were forced to co-exist with the Hindus. They were not able to transport Islamic community life with them from India and they became the targets of hostility from every angle. This may well be illustrated by the fact that Hindus called the Muslims in Trinidad "Mandingos" and in Guyana "Fuller-man" (for Fulani) in a derisive manner - thereby underlining the fact that the "Indian" Muslims had more in common with the "African" Muslims from the Mandinga and Fulani tribes of West Africa and also showing incidentally that there were surviving African Muslims of slave origin even after the abolition of slavery and up to least 1850 CE. For example, also, Muslims who congregated to offer Eid prayers on the Palmiste Estate in south Trinidad were flogged for offering their first Eid prayers in the land.


By 1865 CE, the Indian Muslims of the Caribbean began making organised efforts to resist the hostility and oppression around them. The first mosque were built in Guyana either from mud and grass (tapia) or wood and covered with palm leaves. To these mosques were added "Maktabs" to cater for the Islamic education of the children. The "Maktabs", however, were ill-equipped lacking both material and human resources; and barely managed to maintain the rudiments of faith by revolving themselves around such festive occasions such as the Prophet's (pbuh) birthday (Milad-un-Nabi). When the system of indentured labour was abolished in the first half of the twentieth century the Muslims were able to build more masjids in various communities.


As a result of the atmosphere of hostility confronting Muslims they reacted by becoming very introverted and inward-looking. The community became concerned only with self preservation during this period. Little or no effort were made in propagating Islam and demonstrating Islam as a complete way of life.


Unfortunately, this resulted in the projection of being identified as an "Indian religion" by people of African descent in particular.


This image of Islam was further escalated in Trinidad and Guyana when Muslims reacted with Hindu to events on the basis of a common Indian sentiment. This was especially so in the immediate pre-independence and post-independence era when Indians perceived dangers from African political domination. Developments in Guyana well illustrated the polarisation of African-Indian racial politics.


In Trinidad, there have been some curious cases of Indians (mainly Muslims) who have supported African majority parties but who simultaneously made strong appeals to a common Hindu-Muslim Indian identity.


A prominent example of this kind of politician is Kamaluddin Mohammed, a former member of parliament, who - as a senior member of the former ruling People's National Movement and chairman of the Nur-e-Islam Mosque board - is referred to as "the father of Indian culture in the island." He has been asserting that "the Hindus and the Muslims came together to (the West Indies) as one people" and that Islam and Hinduism "are very closely linked with each other."


The practice of trying to forge links between Muslims and Hindus on the basis of a common Indian culture clearly manifested in the numerous Indian programmes on radio and television has been one of the major drawbacks in presenting a proper image of Islam to the people as a whole


Inevitably, however, the Muslims were not able to withstand all the pressures which living in a plural society involved, societies moreover in which they were a minority. Although, Muslims in this period managed to establish organisations, primary and secondary schools and a few basic institutions, they were inadequate in serving the needs of an emerging community. On a wider plane, in the major areas of economic and political life, the Muslims as a body were not able to make any distinctive contribution. Although, there were ministers in governments and Muslim members of parliaments, the Muslims rarely saw fit to put forward Islamic ideas and programmes.


Apart from Muslims of Indian descent in this period Muslims from Java brought by the Dutch and settled in Surinam isolated themselves from the rest of Surinam and Caribbean society. They have chosen to remain aloof or return to Indonesia instead of becoming a functional part of Caribbean society. In some of the countries, immigrants from the Middle-East settled mainly from Syria, Lebanon and Palestine.


There was a very small percentage of Muslims in this middle eastern migration but as their counterparts, they became totally absorbed in business and had little to do with the religion.


Only on a few islands like Curacao and St Croix (US Virgin Islands) and in Panama is the presence of Arab Muslims recognisable in the region. There they have assisted in building Islamic Centres and have funded scholars from the Middle-East.


This period at least resulted in a sustained presence of Muslims in the Caribbean and laid the basis on which an Islamic re-awakening has taken root today. Recent developments have only highlighted the need for a more organised and systematic approach in Islamic work in the region.

[Senorita]

Source : http://www.islamicity.com/articles/Article...ref=IC0301-1843


<b>The Year a Chinese Muslim Discovered America </b>


The British submarine engineer and historian Gavin


Menzies gave an astounding seminar on March 15, 2002


to the Royal Geographical Society in London, with


evidence to support his theory that Zheng He, a


Chinese Muslim navigator in the Ming dynasty, beat


Columbus by more than 70 years in discovering America.


Using evidence from maps drawn dated before Columbus'


trip that clearly showed America, and astronomical


maps traced back to Zheng He's time, Menzies is


confident that the Zheng He should be honored as the


first discoverer of America.


Menzies's conclusion is based on 14 years of research


that includes secret maps, evidence of artifacts, and


apparent proof of the voyage provided by the modern


astronomy software program Starry Night.


As key evidence for a voyage that will remake history,


Menzies says he obtained ancient Chinese navigation


charts associated with the travels of Zheng He. The


journey ran from 1421 to 1423. Menzies maintains that


the ships sailed around the Southern tips of both


Africa and South America.


The late evening southern sky as it would have looked


on March 18, 1421, from off the southern tip of South


America. Reconstructed with Starry Night Software to


compare with maps found from Zheng He's voyages.


"I set Starry Night up for dates in 1421 for parts of


the world where I thought the Chinese had sailed,"


explained Menzies, a navigation expert and former


Royal Navy submarine commander. He found that in two


separate locations of the voyage, easily recognizable


stars were directly above Zheng He's fleet.


Those stars have since moved, due to changes in


Earth's orientation in space. Earth's spin is slightly


imperfect, and its axis carves a circle on the sky


every 26,000 years. The phenomenon, called precession,


means that each pole points to different stars as time


progresses. Menzies used the software program to


recreate the sky as it would have looked in 1421.


"I had Chinese star charts, and I needed to date the


charts," he said. "By an incredible bit of luck, one


of the courses they steered, between Sumatra and


Dondra Head, Ceylon, was due west."


This part of the journey was very near the equator in


the Indian Ocean. Both Polaris, the North Star, and


the bright southern star Canopus, which was very


nearly above the celestial south pole, were on the


charts. "From that I was able to determine the


apparent shift of Polaris (due to precession). I could


therefore date the chart to 1421, plus or minus 30


years."


Phillip Sadler, a celestial navigation expert at the


Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, says the


estimation of a map's age based on star positions is


possible. He said an estimate within 30 years, as


Menzies claims, is possible.


About Zheng He:


Zheng He (1371-1435), or Cheng Ho, is China's most


famous navigator. He built a total of 1622 ships and


made at least seven major excursions between 1405 AD


and 1430 AD. He traveled more than 50,000km and


visited over 30 countries, reaching Somalia and


probably Europe (France, Holland and Portugal).


Zheng He constructed many wooden ships, some of which


are the largest in the history, in Nanjing. Three of


the shipyards still exist today.


In each trip, he led a troop of 27,800 people on more


than 300 ships. In each trip, 62 major ships of this


fleet were employed, each over 400 ft long and 193 ft


wide, holding 1000 people per ship, dwarfing Columbus'


Santa Maria (75 ft x 25 ft) more than six-fold.


In the 1930s, a stone pillar was discovered in a town


in Fujian province. It held an inscription that


described the amazing voyages of Zheng He.


Zheng He described how the emperor of the Ming Dynasty


had ordered him to sail to "the countries beyond the


horizon," all the way to the end of the earth." His


mission was to display the might of Chinese.


The pillar contains the Chinese names for the


countries Zheng He visited. He wrote:


We have...beheld in the ocean huge waves like


mountains rising sky-high, and we have set eyes on


barbarian regions far away hidden in a blue


transparency of light vapors, while our sails, loftily


unfurled like clouds, day and night continued their


course rapid like that of a star, transversing the


savage waves as if we were treading a public


thoroughfare.


The countries and territories covered and recorded in


the official Ming history includes Java, Sumatra,


Vietnam, Siam, Cambodia, Philippines, Ceylon,


Bangladesh, India, Yemen, Arabia, Somalia, Mogadishu.


As a clear demonstration of his travel to Africa,


among the souvenirs he brought back to China were the


giraffes and lions, indigenous animals of Africa.


The official history also mentioned "Franca" (which


was the territory to describe today's France and


Portugal) and Holland. The Hollanders were described


as tall people with red hair and beard, long nose, and


deep eye sockets. If he did meet with the Europeans in


their native countries, then the only way would be to


navigate around the Cape of Good Hope before the Suez


Canal was a throughway.


Unfortunately, Zheng He's magnificent accomplishment


was later targeted by other courtiers as wasteful.


Most of his records were destroyed and building of


ships with more than three masts were considered


crimes punishable by death. So, a large part of his


excursion (which might include the America part) has


no reports.


In Africa near Kenya today, there are tribes that are


clearly Asian-looking. They also consider themselves


as the descendants of Zheng He's crew.


His achievements show that China had the ships and


navigational skills to explore the world.


Mysteriously, China did not follow up on these


voyages. The Chinese destroyed their ocean going ships


and halted further expeditions. Thus, a century later,


Europeans would "discover" China, instead of the


Chinese "discovering" Europe.


China has a very old seafaring tradition. Chinese


ships had sailed to India as early as the Han Dynasty.


Chinese sailors had an important invention to help


them-the compass. The compass, or "south pointing


spoon," started out as a fortune-telling instrument


used like an Ouija board. By the Song era, sailors had


taken it up. As a foreign ship captain wrote, "In


dark, weather they look to the south pointing needle,


and use a sounding line to determine the smell and


nature of the mud on the sea bottom, and so know where


they are.


Chinese shipbuilders also developed fore-and-aft


sails, the sternpost rudder, and boats with


paddlewheels. Watertight compartments below decks kept


the ship from sinking. Some boats were armor plated


for protection. All these developments made long


distance navigation possible.


After the Mongols were overthrown in 1368, the emperor


of the new Ming Dynasty wanted to assert Chinese


power. Because China was no longer part of a land


empire that stretched from Asia to Europe, the emperor


turned to the sea. He decided to build a navy. The


Chinese made elaborate plans that would not be


fulfilled for many years. A shipyard was built at the


new capital of Najing (Nanking). Thousand of varnish


and tung trees were planted on nearby Purple Mountain


to provide wood for shipbuilding. The emperor


established a school of foreign languages to train


interpreters. While all this was going on, the man who


would lead the navy was still an infant.


Zheng He was born in 1371 in Kunyang, a town in


southwest Yunnan Province. His family, named Ma, were


part of a minority group known as the Semur. They


originally came from Central Asia and followed the


religion of Islam. Both his grandfather and father had


made the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca. Zheng He grew up


hearing their accounts of travel through foreign


lands.


Yunnan was one of the last strongholds of Mongol


support, holding out long after the Ming Dynasty


began. After Ming armies conquered Yunnan in 1382,


Zheng He was taken captive and brought to Nanjing. The


eleven year old boy was made a servant of the prince


who would become the Yong Le Emperor. It was Yong Le


who renamed the boy Zheng He.


Zheng He is described in Chinese historical records as


tall and heavy, with "clear-cut features and long ear


lobes; a stride like a tiger's and voice clear and


vibrant." He was well liked and admired for his quick


wit in argument. Moreover, he was a brave soldier.


When his prince seized the Chinese throne from his


nephew, Zheng He fought well on his behalf. As a


result, Zheng He became a close confidant of the new


emperor and was given an important position at court.


The Yong Le emperor had ambitious plans. A vigorous


man, he rebuilt the Great Wall to the condition in


which it exists today. He also built his new capital


at Beijing, next to the remains of the former Yuan


capital. The emperor decided to go ahead with the sea


voyages that had long been planned. He appointed Zheng


He to lead them and gave him the title "Admiral of the


Western Seas."


At each country Zheng He visited, he was to present


gifts from the emperor and to exact tribute for the


glory of the Ming. The Chinese had a unique view of


foreign relations. Because China developed its culture


in isolation from other great civilization, it says


itself as the center of the world. The Chinese called


their country "the Middle Kingdom."


The Chinese emperor's duty was to attract "all under


heaven" to be civilized in Confucian harmony. When


foreign ambassadors came to the Chinese court, they


"kowtowed" as they approached the emperor. (The


required process of "kowtow" was to kneel three times


and bow one's head to the floor three times at each


kneeling.) In return for tribute from other countries,


the emperor sent gifts and special seals that


confirmed their rulers' authority. In fact, these


foreign kings were officially made part of the Ming


Dynasty.


In 1405 Zheng He set out on his first voyage. No


nation on earth had ever sent such a fleet onto the


ocean. It included sixty-two large ships, some 600


feet long, larger than any other on the seas. Hundreds


of smaller vessels accompanied them. A Chinese


historian described them; "The ships which sail the


Southern Sea are like houses. When their sails are


spread they are like great clouds in the sky."


Zheng He's first port of call was in Champa, a part of


today's Vietnam. He was surprised to find many Chinese


living there. Merchants and craftsmen had emigrated


from the coastal provinces since the time of the Tang


Dynasty. They had already helped to spread Confucian


ideals, and Champs's ruler willingly offered tribute


for the Chinese emperor. In return, of course, Zheng


He presented the king with lavish gifts that were


probably more valuable.


Zheng He sailed away from the coast, westward across


the Indian Ocean. The ships traveled for days out of


sight of any land. Then they encountered a hurricane.


The ships tossed wildly in the fierce storm and seemed


to be on the verge of sinking. Then a "divine light"


suddenly shone at the tips of the mast. "As soon as


this miraculous light appeared, the danger was


appeased," Zheng He wrote.


When the Chinese sailors reached Calicut, India, their


giant ships created a stir. The ruler there presented


his visitors with sashes made of gold spun into


hair-fine threads and studded with large pearls and


precious stones. The Chinese were entertained with


music and songs. One crewmember wrote that the


Indians' musical instruments were "made of gourds with


strings of red copper wire, and the sound and rhythm


were pleasant to the ears."


On the way back to China, the fleet threaded its way


through the Straits of Malacca, stopping at the large


islands of Sumatra and Java. Zheng He established a


base at the Straits that he would use for each of his


seven voyages. There are thousands of smaller islands


in this vast archipelago, and some were pirates'


lairs. The pirates preyed on unwary fishermen and


small merchant vessels. Zheng He, showing how the


emperor treated those who disrupted harmony, attacked


and destroyed a fleet of pirate ships. He captured the


leader and brought him back to Beijing for execution.


When Zheng He returned, the emperor was pleased. He


sent his admiral on ever-longer voyages. Seven times,


Zheng He's ships set sail for unknown lands. On and on


he went, following his orders to travel as far as he


could. He reached Arabia, where he fulfilled a


personal dream. He made the pilgrimage to Mecca that


is the duty of every good Muslim once in his lifetime.


He also visited Prophet Muhammad Mosque in Medina. On


the fifth voyage, he reached the coast of Africa,


landing in Somalia on the east coast.


Zheng He organized each expedition on an enormous


scale. Besides sailors and navigators, they included


doctors, scribes, shipwrights, and cooks. On some


voyages Muslim religious leaders and Buddhist monks


were brought along to serve as diplomats in lands


where people were Muslim or Buddhist.


Each ship brought enough food to last the whole


voyage, in case "barbarian" food was not acceptable.


In addition to rice and other food that could be


preserved, the ships carried huge tubs of earth on


deck so that vegetables and fruit could be grown.


On each voyage the fleet anchored at the Malacca base,


where provisions, tribute, and gifts were stored in


warehouses. Zheng He found that foreign kings and


princes particularly admired the famous blue-and-white


Ming porcelain dishes, vases, and cups. Foreigners


still yearned for Chinese silk, for cotton printed


with Chinese designs, and for the coarse but long


lasting, brownish yellow cloth known as Nankeen


because it was made in Nanking (now Nanjing). The


holds of Zheng He's ships were also crammed with gold


and silver, iron tools, copper kitchenware, and


perfumes.


In exchange for such wares, and as tribute, Zheng He


brought back medicinal herbs, dyes, spices, precious,


gems, pearls, rhinoceros horns, ivory, and exotic


animals. On the homeward voyage, the fleet again


stopped at their base to sort out the foreign goods


and wait for a favorable wind to return to China.


The expeditions were an important source of


information about foreign countries. A crewmember


described the Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal off


the east coast of India:


Its inhabitants live in the hollows of trees and


caves. Both men and women there go about stark naked,


like wild beasts, without a stitch of clothing on


them. No rice grows there. The people subsist solely


on wild yams, jackfruit and plantains, or upon the


fish which they catch. There is a legend current among


them that, if they wear the smallest scrap of


clothing, their bodies would break into sores and


ulcers, owing to their ancestors having been cursed by


Buddha for having stolen and hidden his clothes while


he was bathing.


In Sri Lanka, the Chinese visited Buddhist Temple


Hill, where Buddha was said to have left his footprint


on a rock. They marveled at all the temples,


particularly one that held a relic of the Buddha's


tooth. According to a crew member, the people of the


island do not venture to eat cow's flesh, they merely


drink the milk. When a cow dies they bury it. It is


capital punishment for anyone to secretly kill a cow;


he who does so can however escape punishment by paying


a ransom of a cow's head made of solid gold.


Sri Lanka seemed like a treasure island, where rubies


and other precious stones were abundant. The people


harvested pearls from the sea and had discovered the


trick of making cultured pearls by planting a speck of


sand inside an oyster's shell.


The king of Sri Lanka was an ardent Buddhist who


treated both cows and elephants with religious


respect. However, because he did not show proper


respect for the ambassadors from the Son of Heaven, he


was taken back to China for "instruction." He was


returned to his island on a later voyage.


When the Chinese reached the east coast of Africa,


they found people who built houses of brick. "Men and


women wear their hair in rolls; when they go out they


wear a linen hood. There are deep wells worked by


means of cog wheels. Fish are caught in the sea with


nets." The Africans offered such goods a "dragon


saliva, incense, and golden amber." The Chinese found


the African animals even more amazing. There included


"lion, gold-spotted leopards, and camel-birds


(ostriches), which are six or seven feet tall." The


most exciting thing that Zheng He ever brought back to


the emperor's count was a giraffe.


The animal came from today's Somalia. In the Somali


Language, the name for giraffe sounds similar to the


Chinese word for unicorn. It was easy to imagine that


this was the legendary animal that had played an


important part in the birth of Confucius. Surely, it


must be a sign of Heaven's favor on the emperor's


reign.


When the giraffe arrived in 1415, the emperor himself


went to the palace gate to receive it, as well as a


"celestial horse" (zebra) and a "celestial stag"


(oryx). The palace officials offered congratulations


and performed the kowtow before the heavenly animals.


When Zheng He came back from his seventh voyage in


1433, he was sixty-two years old. He had accomplished


much for China, spreading the glory of the Middle


Kingdom to many countries that now sent tribute and


ambassadors to the court. Though he died soon


afterward, his exploits had won him fame. Plays and


novels were written about his voyages. In such places


as Malacca and Java, towns, caves, and temples were


named after him.


However, a new Ming emperor had come to the throne.


His scholar-officials criticized Zheng's achievements,


complaining about their great expense. China was now


fighting another barbarian enemy on its western


borders and needed to devote its resources to that


struggle. When a court favorite wanted to continue


Zheng He's voyages, he was turned down. To make sure,


the court officials destroyed the logs that Zheng He


had kept. We know about his voyages only from the


pillar and some accounts that his crewmembers wrote.


Thus, China abandoned its overseas voyages. It was a


fateful decision, for just at that time, Portugal was


beginning to send its ships down the west coast of


Africa. In the centuries that followed, European


explorers would sail to all parts of the world. They


would establish colonies in Africa, America, and


finally in the nations of East Asia. China would


suffer because it had turned its back on exploration.


Zheng He had started the process that might have led


the Middle Kingdom to greater glory Unfortunately the


rulers of the Ming Dynasty refused to follow his lead.


Zheng He died in the tenth year of the reign of the


Ming emperor Xuande (1435) and was buried in the


southern outskirts of Bull's Head Hill (Niushou) in


Nanjing.


In 1985, during the 580th anniversary of Zheng He's


voyage, his tomb was restored. The new tomb was built


on the site of the original tomb in Nanjing and


reconstructed according to the customs of Islamic


teachings, as Zheng He was a Muslim.


At the entrance to the tomb is a Ming-style structure,


which houses the memorial hall. Inside are paintings


of the man himself and his navigation maps. To get to


the tomb, there are newly laid stone platforms and


steps. The stairway consists of 28 stone steps divided


into four sections with each section having seven


steps. This represents Zheng He's seven journeys to


the West. The Arabic words "Allah (God) is great" are


inscribed on top of the tomb.

[Senorita]

Pictures of Cheng Muhammad Ho's tomb and other pictures and information about him: http://www.chinapage.com/zhenghe.html

[Shereen]

thank u radiyah 4 ur information

[radiyah]

Thanku sister Seniorita for what u added, , some people no matter how much proof u provide no use, finish they are blind from the truth, all that they can c is what suits their needs, such people are mentioned in the Holy Quran as :


Bismillah Al-Rahman Al-Raheem :


<b>6. Verily, those who disbelieve, it is the same to them whether you (O Muhammad Peace be upon him ) warn them or do not warn them, they will not believe.</b>



7. Allâh has set a seal on their hearts and on their hearings, (i.e. they are closed from accepting Allâh's Guidance), and on their eyes there is a covering. Theirs will be a great torment.


8. And of mankind, there are some (hypocrites) who say: "We believe in Allâh and the Last Day" while in fact they believe not.


9. They (think to) deceive Allâh and those who believe, while they only deceive themselves, and perceive (it) not!


10. In their hearts is a disease (of doubt and hypocrisy) and Allâh has increased their disease. A painful torment is theirs because they used to tell lies.


11. And when it is said to them: "Make not mischief on the earth," they say: "We are only peacemakers."


12. Verily! They are the ones who make mischief, but they perceive not.


13. And when it is said to them (hypocrites): "Believe as the people (followers of Muhammad Peace be upon him , Al-Ansâr and Al-Muhajirûn) have believed," they say: "Shall we believe as the fools have believed?" Verily, they are the fools, but they know not.


So thanku again sister and may Allah give u big Ajr


U r welcome sister shereen, this is from Allah's favour upon me, it is by his grace and help if I find any information or if I learn anything, if it wasent for him the most Gracious then I am worthless. Jazzaky Allah Khayr

[radiyah]

Persuasive lies, but lies all the same.

First, anything concerning Islam is lies, second the arab propaganda never mentioned anything much about this, if u will c the links some of them are not arabic. there are many proofs in the links I provided, but do u like to beleive them, or did u ever read them, no why should u bother, Islam and arabs are always wrong and liars, and only Americans and europeans are the MR. good guys, I think what happened in Iraq and all the lies by the American governement prior the american invasion to Iraq, and what is happeining now proves what high credibility the American governement has, and why should we beleive a writer in the one u supplied in the washington times, and where is his solid proof may I ask.?


Third, I hope u will stop popping up in each discussion we make trying to prove that u r the only educated person around, and the one who knows everything, u want to fight Arabs and Muslims and prove they are wrong, do it somewhere else. and this is going to be the last post I will ever answer back to u John, no matter what your answer is. I will pray to Allah one day to show u the truth, and if u didnt, and u died on that state, may Allah the exalted grant me on the day of judgement to remind u of all this.

[Muslimah]

what difference does it really make who introduced Islam first in Latin America? the end result Radiyah is Alhamdulelah Islam is growing, most importantly though is that one who embraces Islam benefits only him/herself. We dont need to worry.


But I must say Jazakum Allah khairan all of u for this informative thread, it did add much to me. Alhamdulelah....