Mohamed Iqbal is the new leader of the Islamic Community of Lisbon (CIL), succeeding Abdool Vakil, in a passage of testimony that becomes natural given the path of both.
Mohamed was the only candidate for the elections and was, for three terms, vice president of Vakil, who was 33 years in charge of the organization.
“Dr. Vakil is a person who guided the community, gave him many years of life, I learned a lot from him, I owe him a lot “, starts by saying the new leader. He stresses that his challenge is to continue this work. He has a three-year term ahead of him.
“In this work of continuity, everything needs to be done safely because of the moment we are going through, we must ensure that everything is done according to the guidelines of the Directorate-General for Health. And continue to serve the community and be supportive, especially in this crisis motivated by the pandemic “, he told DN.
A native of Maputo, Mohamed Iqbal, 61, left Mozambique at 16 to study in Portugal. He completed his studies in England, at the London School of Economics (London School of Economics, LSE), where he worked in the banking sector.
Abdool Vakil is a friend of the family and brought “his nephew” to Portugal, to work with him at Banco Efisa, where Vakil was an administrator.
Mohamed has developed his professional activity in the financial and banking areas, and is currently a consultant at Banco de Fomento Internacional. He also lived in the USA and Brazil.
Abdool Vakil was appointed honorary president, promising to continue to support the community. “I hope you take good care of this house”, is the request that makes to the new direction. “They say they are counting on me and I will help when necessary,” he told DN.
Mozambican students founded the community
The elections took place this Sunday, throughout the day, in the Central Mosque of Lisbon, having voted a very small part of the community that lives in Portugal. There are 50,000 Muslims in the country, about 7,000 in Lisbon.
The Islamic Community of Lisbon was formed in 1968 by a group of Muslim university students, among them Abdool Vakil, who, at the time, were studying in the Portuguese capital, from the former Portuguese overseas provinces.
The first request for land for the construction of a mosque was made to the City Council of Lisbon, in 1966, by a commission composed of five Muslims and five Catholics. However, it was only in September 1977 that a piece of land was given up on Avenida José Malhoa.
The laying of the first stone took place in January 1979 and the inauguration of the first phase of construction took place on March 29, 1985.
The Central Mosque of Lisbon is a project by architects António Braga and João Paulo Conceição, and its imam is sheik David Munir.
– .
