According to Receo Tayyip Erdogan, the President of Turkey, Muslims beat Christopher Columbus to the new world by more than 300 years.

In a speech in Istanbul during a summit with Latin American nations, Erdogan claimed Muslims had landed discovered America in 1178 and built a Mosque there. The Daily Mail has details of the audacious claim:

He brought up the supposed connection in a bid to establish a long history for links between his country and the distant continent.

He said: "Contacts between Latin America and Islam date back to the 12th century. Muslims discovered America in 1178, not Christopher Columbus. Muslim sailors arrived in America from 1178. Columbus mentioned the existence of a mosque on a hill on the Cuban coast."

He even offered to build a mosque in the country - which currently does not have any. Erdogan said: "I would like to talk about it to my Cuban brothers. A mosque would go perfectly on the hill today."

As the New York Post points out, the claims of Muslims pre-dating Columbus come from misinterpretations of the Italian explorers diary and have been debunked:

The Spanish-employed sailor did speak of a mosque in his personal diary, which was published in 1996, but the notion has been widely considered to be a misunderstanding and should instead be viewed as a metaphor for the shape of the landscape. The fact that no Islamic structures have been unearthed that pre-date Columbus also debunks Erdogan’s claims.