Lisbon, June 19, 2025 (Lusa) - The president of the Islamic Community of Lisbon (CIL) said on Thursday that Muslims in Portugal are being attacked and targeted by misinformation for political reasons, which calls into question Portugal’s peaceful tradition.

In an interview with the Lusa news agency, Mahomed Iqbal said that the arrival of many Muslim immigrants of Asian origin has generated “a lot of misinformation” directed against Muslims in Portugal, which has been “exploited politically.”

For the Islamic Community leader, the arrival of thousands of immigrants, after an initial wave of mainly Portuguese-speaking immigrants, has generated “doubts and concerns” in part of society and anti-Muslim rhetoric “has begun to gain prominence.”

“We feel that they have tried to throw specific issues that are not true onto social media” and that distort reality instead of “showing the kind of cultural wealth” that the arrival of new immigrants brings to the country.

Part of the fears are seen as “natural and normal,” according to Mahomed Iqbal, who admits that there are “culture clashes” because there is an “adaptation of one culture to another,” but these are issues that “time will resolve” with the integration of immigrants.

Born in Mozambique, Mahomed Iqbal is the third president of the Islamic Community of Lisbon, an institution that has represented the majority of Muslims in Portugal in their relations with society and the state, in the Commission for Religious Freedom.

Founded in 1968, the CIL manages the Central Mosque of Lisbon and has had a strong presence of Mozambican and Guinea-Bissau origin.

It is a place of prayer for thousands of people, but the multipurpose space is often used for other activities, and the CIL also has a sports facility where sports can be played, with agreements in place to allow Benfica to use the field for futsal.

“What better example of tolerance and social integration?” he asked, smiling.

Contributing to this increase in anti-Muslim rhetoric is the fact that “we have had three elections in a short period of time,” in addition to the impact of the pandemic, which has altered social relations between people.

“After the pandemic, there was a new reality, a new way of being. I can’t explain it very well, but I felt it strongly, and I believe that the pandemic represented a very strong barrier in terms of living,” said Mahomed Iqbal.

A week ago, the Islamic Community of Lisbon issued a statement complaining about the attacks and hate speech against Muslims, and days later, Imam David Munir was insulted at a ceremony for former combatants on June 10, with his presence also criticized by the right wing Chega Party leader André Ventura.

“People have a right to criticize. We are not against that, but it should be based on truth,” said Mahomed Iqbal, without wanting to personalize, acknowledging that Muslims in Portugal have been the target of various attacks that “have no basis in truth.”

“Thank God, we have earned enormous respect and have had an extraordinarily peaceful experience within Portuguese society. We are completely rooted here and have never had any cause for concern,” he added, recalling that Portugal has been, in Europe, “an example of coexistence between faiths and creeds.”

Recently, “there has been a wave of immigrants coming from the Indian subcontinent in search of a better life. We welcome people and sincerely want immigration to be orderly, for people to be welcome, to have a job, to have a fantastic life and to be legal,” he explained.

An example of the concerns about integration is the fact that Friday sermons are given in Portuguese, with a call for the integration of children in schools and respect for Portuguese secular culture, as was the case with the oldest Muslim community in Portugal.

“We don't consider ourselves different” and “we are all Portuguese,” he said, rejecting the connection that many make between Islam and extremism or between immigration and crime.

Among the Portuguese Islamic community, “we have no specific cases of extremism,” but “here in the mosque we are very afraid that there may be, because, naturally, we are exposed to the world” and “there are people who can enter our country” with other intentions, he explained.

For this reason, “we have a very close relationship with the country’s law enforcement authorities” and, “at the mere suspicion of any specific situation, we make a phone call, either to the Judicial Police or to the Public Security Police to warn them,” added the CIL leader.

“We pick up the phone, call the right people and let them know, because that is our duty. We want Portuguese citizens, Lisbon citizens, to feel safe in their homes, in our home,” he summarized.

PJA/AYLS // AYLS

Lusa