"Fear of Islam Shaped His View of Native Americans"

"The answer lies in Columbus'—and Europe's—long history of crusading against Islam. The crucible of centuries of these religious wars, and the increasing encroachment of the Ottomans and other Muslims in the years after 1453, forged the notion of Islam as an enemy in the minds of Columbus, Cortés and the thousands of other Europeans who fought Muslims in the Old World and then American Indians in the New World."

Alan Mikhail in the Los Angeles Times discusses the "centrality of Islam" for Christopher Columbus.

Columbiana

Edward Burmila at The Nation and Heather Cox Richardson at We're History discuss the history of Columbus and Columbus Day, respectively.

"Upended the Entire Intellectual Tradition of Its Discoverers"

"Irish and Italian immigrants proudly pointed to Columbus' Roman Catholic religion to fight the prejudice they experienced in their adopted country, and in 1882, they founded the Knights of Columbus, now the world's largest Catholic service organization. But during the late 20th century, Native Americans bristled at the notion of Columbus' 'discovery,' feeling that their ancestral lands didn't need discovering.
"But the real reason Columbus' voyages should be remembered—and celebrated—is for their central role in prying loose European curiosity from the vise put in place by the medieval church."

Joyce Appleby in the Los Angeles Times considers a legacy of 1492.

And Yoni Appelbaum at The Atlantic discusses the history of Columbus Day.