Tariq Nelson

Some lunatic in London claimed that the reason why Turkeys (the bird) are called “Turkey” is because it symbolizes a Muslim being slaughtered, served up on a platter and eaten. And because the Ottomans were the seat of the Khilafah, they named it a “Turkey”.

According to wikipedia, this is the real story

When Europeans first encountered turkeys in the Americas, they incorrectly identified the birds as a type of guinea fowl (Numida meleagris), also known as a turkey-cock from its importation to Central Europe through Turkey, and the name of that country stuck as the name of the bird. The confusion is also reflected in the scientific name: meleagris is Greek for guinea-fowl.

The names for M. gallopavo in other languages also frequently reflect its exotic origins, seen from an Old World viewpoint, and add to the confusion about where turkeys actually came from. The many references to India seen in common names go back to a combination of two factors: first, the genuine belief that the newly-discovered Americas were in fact a part of Asia, and second, the tendency during that time to attribute exotic animals and foods to a place that symbolized far-off, exotic lands. The latter is reflected in terms like “Muscovy Duck” (which is from South America, not Muscovy). This was a major reason why the name “turkey-cock” stuck to Meleagris rather than to the guinea fowl (Numida meleagris): the Ottoman Empire represented the exotic East much the same as did India.

Several other birds which are sometimes called “turkeys” are not particularly closely related: the Australian brush-turkey is a megapode, and the bird sometimes known as the “Australian turkey” is in fact the Australian Bustard, a gruiform. The bird sometimes called a Water Turkey is actually an Anhinga (Anhinga rufa)

In a similar confusion, Spanish explorers thought the turkey to be a kind of peacock and called it by the same word, pavo. Today, the turkey is still called pavo in Spanish (except in Mexico where the Nahuatl-derived name guajalote is commonly used), and the peacock is commonly referred to as pavo real (”royal turkey”).

The story told by the nutter reminded me of why Afrocentrists say Europe is called “Europe”.

There was a black scientist who was experimenting and grafted the black man “down” to a brown man. Then the brown man “down” to a red man. Then the red man “down” to the yellow man. Then the yellow man “down” to the white man. The white man was so evil that they had to ROPE him up. So that is why they call it EuROPE

Filed under: The Culture of Denial and Pretense