On Friday 16t March, Mr Abdoolkarim Vakil (Lecturer in Contemporary Portugese History) delivered a key note speech on the history of the Muslim Community in Portugal, at an event commemorating the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the Muslim Community of Lisbon (CIL, 1968-2018). In attendance were the current President of Portugal, Dr Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, as well as three former presidents of the republic, the Mayor of Lisbon, the President of the Portuguese Parliament, and a number of Ambassadors.

Mr Vakil's speech drew on over 20 years of research on the history of the Muslim community of Portugal and Portuguese colonial Islamic policies, including pioneering oral histories conducted in 1999, four main articles and book chapters, one book, plus work currently ongoing.

The event was well covered by the TV news media, and Mr Vakil's speech is featured heavily in a piece by the journalist Alexandra Antunes. The article can be read on the Sapo24 news portal: https://24.sapo.pt/atualidade/artigos/a-comunidade-islamica-de-lisboa-faz-50-anos-e-o-islao-esta-na-alma-de-portugal