Map references:
     Africa, Europe, Standard Time Zones of the World

Area:
     Total area: 92,080 km2
     Land area: 91,640 km2; includes Azores and Madeira Islands in the Atlantic
                        Ocean

Land boundaries:
     Total 1,214 km; Spain 1,214 km

Coastline:
     1,793 km

Climate:
     maritime temperate; cool and rainy in north, warmer and drier in south

Terrain:
     mountainous north of the Tagus, rolling plains in south.
 

2. People

Population:
     10,486,140 (July 1993 stats.)

Population growth rate:
     0.36% (1993 stats.)

Birth rate:
     11.59 births/1,000 population (1993 stats.)

Death rate:
     9.77 deaths/1,000 population (1993 stats.)

Net migration rate:
     1.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 stats.)

Infant mortality rate:
     9.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 stats.)

Life expectancy at birth: (1992 stats.)
     male: 71.43 years
female: 78.56 years

Total fertility rate:
1.45  children born/woman (1993 stats.)

Constitution:
      Republic. Parliamentary democracy with President as the Head of State

Nationality:
     Portuguese

Ethnic divisions:
     homogeneous Mediterranean stock in mainland, Azores, Madeira Islands; citizens of black African descent who immigrated to mainland during decolonization number less than 100,000 and 15,000 of Asian Indian descent.

Religions:
     Roman Catholic Christian 97%, Protestant Christian denominations 1%, other 2% (includes
     Islam)

Languages:
     Portuguese
 

3. History.

a) The Past

Here is, almost at top of the head of whole Europe,
the Lusitan Kingdom where the land ends and the sea begins"

This is how Camões, the Portuguese national poet, described Portugal in “As Lusiadas", his prime work, defining this way the location of his  motherland in Europe. but it was also, on account of this work that Camões was responsible for some of the myths and intolerance on Islam, as he was intolerant.

Iberian Peninsula, after the fall of the Roman Empire, was divided in several nations, some larger  with almost constant war among themselves.

It happens that a Christian Prince, in war against another, being in risk of losing the war, asked for help to an Arab and Muslim Prince Mussa-bin-Nusair, in 708, who came to Iberian Peninsula to aid the king in trouble. Mussa bin Nusair  triumphed over the enemy Rodrigo, the Visigoths’ king, and stayed over as a conqueror.

" The Arab army conquered the castles of Viseu and Lugo and stopped there, they sent detachment that arrived at Penha de Pelaio near the sea.(...).The Christians swore allegiance, established peace and submitted themselves to the payment of personal taxes. and the Arabs .settled in the most difficult places. (...). The Captains were Muslims and Koranic Doctrine was against the violent imposition of religious truth: "do not use violence on men because of faith" (sura ii,257) ;  "and do not dispute with People of the Book (Jews and Christians) except in the best way" (sura xxix,45) (“For a History of the Portuguese People" pag. 95, J. Hermano Saraiva).

This conduct and behaviour contributed to a complaisance attitude beneath religion, which facilitated the domination of the Arab Muslims. There was, undeniably, improvement in life conditions. People were free to follow or not the religion in which they had been educated, voluntarily many people changed their creed.

Many landlords made agreements and established "capitulation" with the winners. The most famous capitulation became of the noble Teodomiro, that in 713, signed the treaty, as follows, with the Prince of Murcia, Abd-al-Aziz, son of the conqueror Mussa:

" In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful.
Grant a contract between Abd-al-Aziz bin Mussa bin Nussay and Teodomiro bin Gobdux: the latter’s capitulation will be done with the condition that any domination will be imposed nor to him nor to anyone of his family; they will be coerced or deprived of his properties; they will not be killed or held captives, they will be separated from each others nor from their wives or sons, they will not forced in their religion and their churches will not be burned; they will not be deprived of his properties.
As long as the latter is faithful and sincere and accomplished all what was stipulated with him.; his capitulation extended to seven towns which are Orihuela, Valentilo, Alicante, Mula, Bigastro, Eyyo And Lorca. He will not give shelter to deserters nor to enemies; will not intimidate those who live under our protection; nor he will hide news that he may have from our enemies. he and his own will pay each year one dinar, and four measures of wheat, four of burley, four pitchers of sodden wine and  four of vinegar, two of honey and two of olive oil; but the serfs will pay only half". (“For a History of the Portuguese People" pag. 97 J. Hermano Saraiva).

The Muslim Arabs dominated Portugal was until 1249. and the South of Iberian Peninsula until 1492.
The expansion of Muslim Arab Civilization in Iberian Peninsula, was, more or less, like this. The Peninsula was completely conquered but people weren't submitted as they had been by the militarists Roman invaders. With the entrance of the Arab Muslims in the Peninsula, Islam penetrated Europe on its Western side.

In spite of the long permanence of the Muslim Arabs in the Peninsula, about eight centuries, Islam wasn't much implanted. May be this happened due to some factors not which have to be researched... but can be suggested, among that factors that the religious tolerance practised by the Muslim Arabs conjugated with the acceptance of the antecedent Prophet to Muhammad (s.a.w.), Jesus Christ (Issa a.s. ) and his mother  Maria, was one of them. In the Qur'an their names are mentioned between the most important figures of Islam.

From these two natural principles came a good and harmonious living between Christians and Muslims, at least among people, say those who studied the Arab  matters seriously and without prejudices (ex. Alexandre Herculano, Oliveira Pereira, Frei João de Sousa, A. Farinha de Carvalho, Antonio Dias Farinha, Adalberto Alves J. Hermano Saraiva, Cláudio Torres, José Mattoso, and so on...).

The Muslim Arab rule benefited the people of the Iberian Peninsula, due to the influence of a superior culture that they brought with them such as Science, as it ‘s defined in the present days in terms of theory and practice, transmitted to people that had long lost their historical past caused by the slavery and military subjugation to the Romans.

No doubt that the intermingling between the Muslim Arabs and the people of Peninsula was beneficial to the latter, despite the religious wars prepared and instigated by the Catholic Church against the Muslims.

After the Christian conquest a large number of Muslims stayed over in the Portuguese territory. They came to be known as mudayyanun, i.e. those who remained, the the Portuguese term mudéjar.
To the Muslim mouros forros or free moors, a specific legislation was applied contained in forais. The term mouros (moors) had no negative meaning that the term morisco acquired in Spain. The first foral was conceded in 1170 by the first Portuguese king Afonso Henriques benefiting the Muslim communes of Lisbon, Almada, Palmela and Alenquer and served as a model to be applied to the forais of Tavira, Loulé, Silves and Faro, conceded in 1269. The law conceded the Muslims a special status that recognized the Muslim communes’ religious and cultural identity, allowing freedom to practice Islam, the teaching of Arabic and application of Fiqh, in return of payment of stipulated taxes and fulfilment of certain obligations. It was an adaptation of Shariah when applied to the People of the Book.

In the urban zones, the Muslims lived in separate districts called mourarias. This was translated in the ownership of public buildings such as Mosques and baths, social centres, markets, butchers and cemeteries. Each commune had its elected alcaide, i.e. judge who exercised administration of justice. The alcaide was assisted by tabeliões i.e. public notary and the documents were written in Arabic.

The Portuguese state even incorporated models of Muslim institutions namely in the military, economic and administrative structures.

From XIV century many restrictive measures against the Muslim minority were slowly brought into effect. The Portuguese king Manuel I, in December 1496, ordered the expulsion of all Muslims and Jews until October of the next year at the peril of confiscation of property and physical elimination, unless these were baptized into Christian faith.

In 1521 the Portuguese author Gil Vicente put in the mouth of a personage of his comedy Rubena words of a popular song which in the actual context gained a special significance: calvi aravi, meaning “my heart is Arab”. It is known that despite the royal edict of expulsion the majority of Muslims remained, depicted in the documents of the Inquisition (instituted in 1536).

It is notable the contribution of the Arab Muslims for the progress in terms of civilization of the Iberian Peninsula, more evident in the gigantic enterprise of the Portuguese done in the Discovery of New Worlds, of which Europe had lost the geographic notion of its existence.

In the long voyages through the dangerous seas, the Portuguese advanced to the places in the East, that the Muslim Arabs sailors and traders had already reached. The famous Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama was the first to note that the population from the shores of Sofala in the Indian Ocean were Muslims due to the Muslim Arab presence. Gama found a flourishing commerce and navigation, religion, science, arts, behaviour in these regions.

In “Moçambique” island, name given by Vasco da Gama, derived from “Mussa bin Biq” Mozambique's ruler, Gama took a guide, Ahmad ibn Majid, a Muslim Arab or Arabized, to go ahead on his enterprise of finding the route to India.

From these few lines on history we come to conclusion that Islam was already established long before the arrival of the Portuguese sailors. Also in its maximum amplitude the Portuguese History takes its share from the Muslim Arab History from the removal of the Romans in the old history of Lusitania, the Portuguese and the Muslim Arabs walked together in the interminable struggle, the so-called march of Human evolution, with war or without it.
 

b) The Present

1968 - A religious and cultural association is born and was open to all Muslims resident in Portugal, nationals or foreigners, with the name of “Comunidade Islamica de Lisboa” (Islamic Community of Lisbon), whose constitution was approved officially  (D.G. no. 83, III Series, 6/4/1968) on 25 March 1968, according to the art. 450 of Portuguese Administrative Code.
The Islamic Community of Lisbon (CIL) was founded by 17 Muslims living in Portugal The first president of the board of CIL was Suleiman Valy Mamede, until 1985.

 1974/78 - A military coup overthrew on 25 April the Salazar/Caetano dictatorship in Portugal. Due to new found freedom, a new immigration of Muslims coming from the former Portuguese colonies and the help of local Muslim countries’ diplomats, CIL became an important organization, respected by all men and women, independently of their faith.

1979 - The building of the first Mosque in Lisbon is started on a land offered by the local Council - the first since the expulsion of Muslims Arabs in 1492.

1981 -  Al-Furqan Islamic magazine is founded by 5 Muslims. The director since then is M. Yiossuf Mohamed Adamgy. It has been a bimonthly and only Portuguese language magazine dedicated to the study, propagation and defence of Islam in Portugal.  Al-Furqan has published since over 100 books on Islam, promoted conferences and competitions on Islam, programs on Islam to be shown on TV stations, annual book fairs. Since 1996 has a homepage on the Internet.

1982 - Starts a controversy due to a Portuguese language translation of the Holy Qur’an by Jose Pedro Machado - first published on 1980, and with a preface of Suleiman Valy Mamede, in the quality of president of the Islamic Community of Lisbon, which guaranteed the quality of the text and doctrine. On 8 June 1982, the translation is denounced by Al-Furqan magazine due to insulting remarks on the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) and hostility towards Islam through tafseer. An investigating commission the translation was banished from all Muslim communities in Portuguese speaking countries, despite the preface by the President of Islamic Community of Lisbon. On 18 August 1982 Suleiman Valy Mamede accepted the existence of grievous shortcomings, omissions and errors in the Portuguese translation of the Qur’an by Jose Pedro Machado.

1983 - Inaugurated the Mosque of Laranjeiro to serve the religious needs of Muslims residing in the south of Tagus river (south of Lisbon).

1984 - Inaugurated the Mosque of Odivelas to serve the religious needs of Muslims residing in the Loures zone (north-east of Lisbon).
  
1985 - On Friday 29 March 1985 / 7 Rajab 1405, around 10 am, with the presence of the Portuguese president, the prime-minister, all diplomats of Muslim countries in Portugal, civil and military authorities, a large number of invitees and Muslims in general, the first phase of Lisbon Mosque is inaugurated. The president of Comunidade Islamica de Lisboa, said in his last part of speech: “With a Mosque in Lisbon, we can say that we enriching the cultural patrimony of the country, satisfying the legitimate aspirations of Portuguese Muslims, and at last we are launching  the foundations of future relationship of sincere friendship and fraternity between Portugal and the Muslim countries of the World”.
The first phase of Lisbon Mosque, five centuries after the definitive exit of the Muslim Arabs from Portugal, was built with the support of Muslim countries, namely Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Libya, Pakistan, Lebanon, Oman, Egypt, Jordan and Iran.

1988 - Due to electoral disagreements a consensus is reached on the board of Islamic Community of Lisbon, and since then it is presided by Abdool Magid Karim Vakil.

1992 - The first Mosque, after the Muslim presence of over 500 years ago, is inaugurated on 29 February in Coimbra, a city famous for its old University.

1994 - The first theological school is founded in Palmela. Dar-ul-Uloom’s graduates Hafiz-ul-Qur’an and Imams.

1992/97 - An influx of new Muslim immigrants permitted by the extraordinary legalization of illegal migrants contributed towards the increase of number of Muslims in Portugal.