Today, the President of the Republic presided over the opening session of the 3rd edition of the Arab Days: “Arab-Islamic Memories, Dialogue between Civilizations”. In his speech at the event, he highlighted Portugal's role in creating opportunities for dialogue and understanding between peoples and pointed to the country's secure and predictable character as a partner par excellence for the Arab world.
Lisbon, May 17th, 2017 - This morning, the President of the Republic presided over the opening session of the 3rd edition of the Arab Days: “Arab-Islamic Memories, Dialogue between Civilizations”, an initiative organized by the Arab-Portuguese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIAP), which is taking place today in the Auditorium of the National Archives of Torre do Tombo, in Lisbon.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa began by recognizing the role Portugal has to play in its relations with the Arab world, pointing out that the country, endowed with “a constant universalist vocation, it is in a privileged position, in the concert of nations, to promote dialogue between civilizations, cultures, peoples and religions”.
A dialog “urgent”, in the face of “a world and a time in which the narratives (...) of intolerance, exclusion, fanaticism and ignorance, which know no borders or limits, are gaining expression. It is a fight for openness and not enclosure, for knowledge and not ignorance, a fight for bridges and not walls. In short, a fight for peace, based on a humanist vision that is ours”.
From Portugal, the President of the Republic leaves the certainty that the country will be “always ready to strengthen relations, promote reciprocal knowledge between our peoples for mutual benefit, going further in strengthening ties, in the certainty that what united us in the past can and must be multiplied for the future”.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa believes that “Portugal wins, but the Arab world wins, because it knows that in Portugal it has a partner known for political peace, institutional stability, social peace, security, predictability, the start of an economic recovery, the consolidation of public finances and a concern for ecumenical openness to all”.
This message is echoed in the words of Ângelo Correia, Chairman of the Board of Directors of CCIAP, who, at the opening of the event, pointed to the entity “a promotional mission in the economic, financial and commercial areas”, but considering that “beyond trade there is the fundamental reality of getting to know each other”.
Ângelo Correia highlights the importance of the initiative in recognizing the Arab legacy as one of several “decisive influences” that we have been able to use to “not only to change and modify ourselves, but perhaps to better understand others (...) making Portugal a creditor of this memory that we respect, that we accept and that we know enriches us”. The sharing of knowledge promoted in these days is proof that “we are proud of our identity and today we celebrate it”.
The Chairman of CCIAP's Board of Directors sees the President of the Republic's support for the event as “favorable expression” for the cause “of peace, of our identity, of strengthening the relationship and knowledge between peoples”.
The first panel in the Colloquium to be held throughout the day was dedicated to the theme of the “Arab-Islamic Cultural Legacy in the Iberian Peninsula”. The session featured speeches by Salah Fadl, Professor of Comparative Literature at the Faculty of Letters of Ain Shams University (Egypt); Abdool Magid Abdool Karim Vakil, President of the Islamic Community of Lisbon; Abdulaziz AlMussallam Al Khaaldi, President of the Islamic Community of Lisbon. Sharjah Institute for Heritage (United Arab Emirates) and Adel Sidarus, Emeritus Professor of Arab-Islamic Studies at the University of Évora.
The specificity of the Al-Andalus experience, as an example of a period of extraordinary scientific and cultural creation and the coexistence and symbiosis of peoples of three religions in the same space, was the focus of the debate on the Arab-Islamic presence in the peninsula.
The Colloquium continues in the afternoon with two sessions dedicated to the “Importance of the Arab-Islamic Presence in the Iberian Peninsula” and the “Expressions and Realizations of the Arab-Islamic Legacy in the Iberian Peninsula”. Today's activities will end with a Closing Session, which will be attended by the Minister of Culture, Luís Filipe de Castro Mendes, and the UN High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations (2007-2013) and former President of the Republic, Jorge Sampaio.
In addition to today's colloquium in Lisbon, this 3rd edition of the Arab Days will continue tomorrow with guided tours of Lisbon and Sintra, which will highlight some of the legacies, urban remains and other testimonies of the Arab-Islamic presence in Portugal.
About CCIAP:
Founded in 1977, the Arab-Portuguese Chamber of Commerce and Industry is a non-profit association / public utility organization. Its main objective is to develop economic, commercial, industrial and cultural relations between Portugal and the 22 countries of the League of Arab States, on the basis of mutual interest, contributing considerably to closer cooperation between Portugal and the Arab world. More information at www.cciap.pt