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THE LISBON ISLAMIC COMMUNITY (COMUNIDADE ISLÂMICA DE LISBOA)
To understand the presence of a practicing Muslim community in Lisbon, established as a consequence of the 25 April, 1974 Revolution, a brief historical framework must be given. The establishment of Portugal as an independent country was marked by constant wars against the Moors. According to an article by António Gasparetto Junior entitled Reconquista da Península Ibérica:862 “Reconquista is the name given to the military process of reconquering geographical parts of the Iberian Peninsula which for centuries had been subject to Muslim occupation”.863 From the Algarve in the south to the Mondego River in the centre, all that Portuguese territory was once under Muslim control as stated by an article entitled A Formação de Portugal.864 The Muslim control exerted its Islamic influence on culture in the typical style of music called fado, in architecture as expressed in buildings such as houses, towns and castles and, in language as Islamic influence is shown in the enormous number of words of Arabic origin. Corroboratively,an article entitled Cultura e História states,865 “The Arab/Islamic presence profoundly marked our culture, our history, and in our language existing about 1200 words [in Portuguese] of Arabic origin”.866 However, the Islamic religious influence ended in 1496 when King Dom Manuel I expelled both Portuguese Jews and Muslims from the country if they refused to convert to Roman Catholicism.867
The Inquisition Tribunal’s archives mention some Portuguese accused868 of practicing Islam in the seventeenth century. Names like Manuel Rodrigues, António Cacheiro and Sebastião Correia Peixoto, whose surnames are Portuguese, were probably forced to alter their surnames from their previous Arabic status. Many Muslims disguised themselves and departed, but others remained in the country, fearing the King’s decree,869 “Cut the foot of the Moor caught running away”.870 It was under the Inquisition period from “1536 to 1821”871 that Islam disappeared from the Portuguese religious landscape until it reappeared one and a half centuries later in late 1950’s and early 1960’s in the form of Sunnite Muslim. However, it was only after the 25 April, 1974 Revolution that the Sunnite Muslim gained greater expression in Lisbon and were able to build their magnificent Mosque.872 According to Alexandra Prado Coelho’s article entitled Comunidade Muçulmana em Portugal Está Cada Vez Mais Diversificada,873 “The first Muslims to arrive in Portugal were college students from Mozambique but of Indian origin”.874 The Lisbon Islamic Community (Comunidade Islâmica de Lisboa)875 wasformally established at the beginning of the Caetano’s consulate during the New State era in “1968”876 as José Mapril states in “Bangla masdjid”: Islão e bengalidade entre os bangladeshianos em Lisboa.
TRANSFORMATION OF THE PORTUGUESE SOCIETY
The Portuguese society was prepared for a paradigm shift from an authoritarian regime to democracy. The desire for change made the 1974 coup d’état different from previous attempts to change the Portuguese nation. The keenness to adopt the democratic regime resulted in a lasting and deeper social and legislative transformation reflected by the first 1982 Constitutional Revision just six years after its promulgation. The relevance of the 1982 Constitutional Revision for this thesis is that it initiated the process of redefinition8 77 Lloyd-Jones, Stewart, Portugal’s history since 1974, (Paper: CPHRC Working Papers, Series 2, Number 1 (November 2001). http://www1.ci.uc.pt/. Accessed on 24 February, 2014), p. 6. concerning the issue of religious freedom, freedom of expression and freedom of association.
The 1974 coup d’état had a radical consequence for the Portuguese foreign policy because it prompted Portugal to shift her focus from overseas colonialist to find a European focus. The industrialization initiated in mid twentieth century did not result in economic growth because Salazar kept the populations illiterate and incapable of getting modernized. Consequently, the economic and social underdevelopment experienced in Portugal needed to be resolved to prepare the country to become a member state of the EEC.
SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN PORTUGAL WITH THE COMMITMENT TO RESPECT HUMAN RIGHTS
The EEC development standards required a set of social and economic pre-conditions which Portugal had to meet in order to become a member state. However, the country was determined to resolve Europe’s requirements related to its democratisation, liberalisation and modernisation which the Portuguese faced from 1976 to 1985. While meeting the European’s challenge of social and economic pre-conditions Portugal encountered legislative constrains resolved by the 1982 Constitutional Revision but also by the secularized patterns of political behaviour. The trauma of the colonial wars was replaced in the collective social fabric by the dream of becoming a modern country and a proud member state of the EEC. The Portuguese celebrated democracy and liberty while it permitted social and economic transformation in preparation for its integration in the EEC.
INTRODUCTION .
1. Introduction and backgroun
2. Rationale for this stud
3. Problem statement
4. Research questions
5. Aim and objectives of this study
7. Overview of the research
8. Methodology
9. Layout of the thesis
CHAPTER 1 – BRIEF HISTORICAL FRAMEWORK ON THE LACK OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY IN PORTUGUESE HISTORY (1940-1974)
1.1 A brief historical overview of the New State (Estado Novo) concerning religion
1.2 The decline of the New State (Estado Novo)
1.3 The demise of the New State
1.4 Portugal and the Future (Portugal e o Futuro), a prophetic book
1.5 Summary of Chapter One
CHAPTER 2 – THE PERIOD OF REDEFINITION OF THE PORTUGUESE REGIME (1974-1976)
2.1 The “Order System Operation” and the 1974 Revolution
2.2 Democracy and religious freedom in the 1976 Constitution within the transition to democracy
2.3 Religious reaction to the New State
2.4 Social transformation permitting religious proliferation
2.5 The Portuguese Jewish communities
2.6 The Lisbon Islamic Community (Comunidade Islâmica de Lisboa)
2.7 Summary of Chapter One
CHAPTER 3 – THE TRANSITIONAL PHASE FOR DEMOCRATIC NORMALIZATION (1976-1985)
3.1 Transition of the Portuguese society
3.2 The 1982 Constitutional Revision resolves conflicts
3.3 The religious transformation of the Portuguese nation
3.4 Summary of Chapter Three
CHAPTER 4 – THE CONSERVATIVE MODERNIZATION PERIOD (1986-1997)
4.1 The meaning of the EEC’s Membership to the Portuguese nation
4.2 The 1989 Constitutional Revision and the quest for religious freedom
4.3 Positioning Portugal according to EU legislation and ethos related to religious freedom
4.4 Social development and the experience of freedom
4.5 Major Pentecostal/Charismatic events and general religious proliferation
4.6 Persisting differences in state policy towards the Roman Catholic Church and other religious entities
4.7 Summary of Chapter Four
CHAPTER 5 – THE LIBERALIZATION MODERNIZATION PERIOD (1997-2009)
5.1 Portugal within the European Union’s concern for religious freedom
5.3 The impact of the Constitutional Revisions of 1997 and 2001 to religious freedom
5.4 The Roman Catholic position in Portugal compared with other religious entities
5.5 An historical overview of the Portuguese religious spectrum
5.6 Summary of Chapter Five
CONCLUSION
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THE IMPACT OF THE 1974 REVOLUTION ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN PORTUGAL (1974 – 2009)
