2While an Indian Curry Chicken dish is served, the journalist crosses the room. It is easy to find Saiba among the more than 50 girls aged between twelve and approximately 28 years of age present here. She is one of the three young Muslima wearing a hijab (headscarf). The journalist is taking many notes, learning about the ritual of the five daily prayers which is part of Saiba’s daily routine, who explains:

“The timings of these prayers are spaced fairly evenly throughout the day, so that one is constantly reminded of God and given opportunities to seek His guidance and forgiveness: before dawn (Fajr), noon (Dhuhr), afternoon ('Asr), sunset (Maghrib), and evening ('Isha). Because of the rotation of the earth, the revolution of the earth around the sun, the tilt of the earth, the various latitudes of the earth's locations, daylight saving time, etc. – the ‘times’ (according to the clock) for these prayers change from day to day and depend on location. Islamic prayer times were traditionally set according to the movement of the sun, not of the clock, and this is how they continue to be observed. Most communities publish prayer ‘schedules’ to keep track of the times, and specialised computer programs can also calculate the prayer times for each area, for each day of the year.”

Saiba’s dish remains untouched while she dedicates her full attention to the journalist’s questions, explaining what pertains to the ritual, quoting the Qur´an, sharing her Islamic knowledge. She provides a solid introduction into the rules and tradition of salat (Islamic prayer) to an interested outsider.

3The young journalist’s aim is to write about Muslim university students. In order to find such students she has contacted the Central Mosque in Lisbon, and the Iman, Sheik Munir, had put her in contact with CilJovem. After some phone calls, she had been warmly invited by one of the organisers to participate at this dinner. She has also contacted me as a researcher familiar with the subject, so we met in front of the restaurant before lining up at the entrance, where a volunteer, to whom we provide some 11 euro for the complete meal, checked everybody’s names at the guest list. Apart from my own work of participant observation, talks and distributing a questionnaire among this group, I am partly witness to her interviews, what she does not mind, nor do her interviewees.

4A scholar of Islamic studies could not have given a better lecture on Islamic prayer than Saiba does, who spans the historic bow from the Prophet’s time to the present day, indicating some web-links where to look up the exact prayer times for Lisbon, before the dessert arrives. So far, the journalist has certainly learned about some aspects of Islamic traditions and dogma. But I wonder if she had learned about Saiba’s life as a university student in Lisbon or her individual experience with and beyond this ritual. The Danish Cartoon controversy and the topic of “polygamy” are still on the reporter’s list. While the friend sitting next to her takes over for polygamy, Saiba enjoys her cold chicken curry, letting me know that 'Asr (the afternoon prayer), was her favourite one, “well, the most important for me at normal working days”. By then she has been up for 12 hours already, needing a little break and some peace of mind after having attended her courses, and before dedicating herself to other tasks and a new part of the day, which include taking care of her younger sisters, helping her parents in their shop and preparing herself for tomorrow’s classes. She takes her studies very seriously, and it helps her, “taking a few minutes, mostly by myself, to remember God and the greater meaning of our lives”.

The Group and context of the study

5Since September 11, this group of young Portuguese Muslims hardly finds itself alone when meeting for leisure time activities and social events, such as bowling, dinners, excursions to the country side, 5-a-side football matches, or the popular rally through Lisbon to mark the beginning or end of Ramadan. At least between 4 and 8 events of this nature are organised each year by the CilJovem in Lisbon, attracting around 60 to150 young people. Most of them are of South Asian origin and their parents came to Portugal from Mozambique (a Portuguese colony until 1975). Some also meet more frequently in a discussion forum in the Central mosque. The organisers describe the CilJovem as a non-profit religious, educational and cultural association dedicated to organising activities to promote interaction inside the Islamic Community and at the same time to build bridges between the Portuguese public and Portuguese Muslims. Apart from their full-time jobs, several members of its leading committee are additionally engaged in volunteer work, for example as members of the Zakat Association and/or in other volunteer welfare and assistance work.

8They are accustomed to reacting and responding to remarks and questions which refer to their Muslim-ness and/or (however “Islam-related”) topics and political events since they were school pupils: partly since the Rushdie affair in 1989, during the second Gulf War in the early 1990s or when they were called “Taliban” by non-Muslim pupils in the school yard. These experiences and the more recent practise of dealing with professionals and their questions has also improved their expertise, and some among them are more expert than others, in general or on specific topics. Over the past years, they have developed a kind of routine which does not only imply a certain patience to digest and respond to the same types and patterns of questions again and again.

The Bigger Picture: Muslim communities, early and recent arrival

Islamic associations and “the parents”

13The vast majority of young Muslims who comprise the subject of our study are children of the Muslims of South Asian origin who came to Portugal from Mozambique and established the first Islamic associations in contemporary Portugal. In this process, the role of a small group of Muslims, who were studying at the faculties of law, medicine and economics in the metropolis, was decisive. According to their intellectual, diplomatic and social capacities, this group (as well as their Ismaeli co-religionists) can be seen as “integration figures” of contemporary Islam in Portugal – and partly they remain in the leading committees of the communities up to the present day. The little Islamic infrastructures served as an anchor for thousands of Muslims arriving among hundreds of thousand people who came/returned from the colonies during the chaotic post-revolution period. Today, the Central Mosque or local Islamic communities continue to be on top of the address-lists of Muslims who have recently arrived in the country, trying to find their way through the bureaucratic jungle of registration.

16Regarding Islamic infrastructures, there are two more “representative” mosques near Lisbon (Laranjeira and Odivelas) besides the Central Mosque (inaugurated in 1985), and another in Coimbra. Furthermore, a recognised, private primary and secondary Islamic School (frequented also by some non-Muslim pupils) in Palmela (near Lisbon); some further twenty cultural centres and prayer halls exist from North to South (but mainly near Lisbon), alongside around twelve madrassas, at least six halal butcher shops and nine halal restaurants, and three edited journals/newspapers (apart from grey literature). Among other religious groups, Muslims also take part in a TV programme (public channel), where the presentation time is divided according to the numerical strength of the communities (in practise, mostly occupied by the Catholic Roman Church and by Protestant and Pentecostal churches, coming second).

17Alongside common religious, cultural and social infrastructures (including a bookstore, chatrooms or the community website), three associations were founded under the rooftop of the thirty year old Central Mosque in the heart of Lisbon, belonging to CIL (which reaches beyond the Central mosque): the Women’s Association, one of Guinean Muslims and the CilJovem which was founded in 1992.

The quantitative survey

Family and Friends

Study and Work

21A number of indices regarding study and work were included in the questionnaire to explore the significance of both of these areas in the lives of the young people surveyed. Large numbers of young people who stated that they liked to study (74% for the non-Muslim sample and 80% of young Muslims) were present, and overall, more males disliked studying, 34% compared to 17% of all females; largely negative appraisals of the Portuguese education system were also made: only 14% in the non-Muslim sample of young people and 28% of young Muslims thought that Portugal has a good education system; this is an interesting dichotomy in respect to the degrees of negativity on display if we take into account the fact that these young Muslims, via travel and family relationships outside of Europe (mainly in Mozambique), are more likely to be able to take other countries’ educational systems into comparison.

22Regarding their future working lives, equally high numbers of young people from both groups thought it “would be” good to work abroad (88%) – which does not mean that they are actually having concrete plans for leaving the country. There was however a major discrepancy concerning working outside Lisbon: while majorities in both groups would like to work elsewhere in Europe (80% in the non-Muslim sample and 76% of the young Muslims), only 29% of the young Muslims, in contrast to 57% of the non-Muslim young people, wanted to work elsewhere in Portugal; young Muslim males were however more strongly predisposed towards working elsewhere in Europe (95%, including 53% with very strong inclinations to do so) than their female Muslim counterparts (59%, with only 12% strongly inclined), while young Muslim females were more likely to preference working elsewhere in Portugal (38% compared to 23% of males).

23Both groups of young people were however in agreement with the fact that salaries are too low in Portugal: 81% and 84% respectively. It is interesting to note that among the young Muslims, significantly more females than males agreed that salaries with this notion, with 100% of young Muslim women in agreement, compared to 83% of the young Muslim men, while for the non-Muslim group of young people, the gender difference is less pronounced on this question. Both sets of young people also feared unemployment, 74% in both groups, with women in both samples more apprehensive: 84% beside 60% of men in the non-Muslim sample and 82% of women compared to 68% of men in the young Muslim group.

Little Difference: Lisbon Youth is “happy at home”

24What emerged was that generally, across the board and despite what are perceived to be difficult economic circumstances in Portugal, particularly in relation to the labour market, these young people are content with their lives. All of them expressed quite critical views on the education system, salaries and employment options in Portugal. Furthermore, a number of psycho-social scales were included to provide some indication of the feelings of personal well-being amongst these young people. On three measures (fatalism, internal locus of control and motivation), we find that many of these young people believe strongly that they have the power to shape their own futures, i.e. that they will be successful in life through their own efforts rather than leaving things to chance. They are indeed highly motivated to succeed and rather than trust in luck or chance, they believe they can control their own future life courses. At a more personal level, self-esteem was also measured. We have discovered that the majority of these young people are generally happy being the people they are, with strong levels of self-esteem found across the board, albeit slightly more so for the young Muslims. Putting these indices into context, while based upon the subjective judgements of the young people themselves, we can see that the very strong family and peer relationships previously uncovered foster strong feelings of personal well-being, despite negative appraisals of objective circumstances in Portugal.

Young Portuguese Muslims: broader horizons – but less ready to migrate

25In relation to the future, rather than pursue future trans-national life trajectories, overwhelming majority of both samples also plan to spend the rest of their lives in Portugal. While the overall picture demonstrates little difference between the young Muslims and non-Muslims, some interesting differences may be noted.

27Both groups of young people were clearly interested in foreign travel. In the last 12 months, 46% of the non-Muslim sample and 74% of the young Muslims had travelled outside Portugal at least once, while in previous years, 74% of non-Muslims and 70% of the young Muslims had enjoyed foreign travel. Gender differences were also observed within both samples; in the non-Muslim sample, more males than females had taken trips abroad in the past year, while amongst the young Muslims, this trend was reversed.

28It was also noticeable that between the two groups of young people, destinations did vary somewhat, with the non-Muslim young people preferring nearby European destinations, most notably Spain, while the young Muslims tended to venture further, particularly to the Middle East (United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia), South Asia (India and Pakistan) and Africa (Mozambique, principally to visit family). Additionally, as expected, the young Muslims were the only group to undertake pilgrimages to Mecca (12% having done so at some point in the past, with a further 5% wishing to do so in the future). It should be noted that there were no explicit questions on this subject of religious pilgrimages and that the subject of “Mecca” was raised by the young people themselves. It should also be noted that a small number of young Muslims, specifically females, had recently married and made visits abroad in regard to making preparations for weddings, principally to England, and subsequently took honeymoons; Tunisia was a particularly popular destination in this latter respect. The former trend also helps account for the higher number of Muslim women taking trips abroad.

30On the other hand, they are even less predisposed than other young Portuguese people to leave Portugal for longer periods, whether it be for better employment or to engage in a relationship with someone living abroad. This is interesting for two reasons. Firstly, these ambitious and work and study committed young people are aware that options regarding future life career plans look more promising outside Portugal and that geographical mobility would improve their opportunities. Secondly, migration trajectories and relationships with other South Asian and Portuguese Muslims (partly family relatives) in the UK (which they consider more “emancipated in Muslim matters”) are well-established.

31Furthermore, ethnic and racial discrimination are part of daily life experience, and the specific historical context of the “War on Terror”, within which this study was undertaken has created an atmosphere wherein Islamophobic voices have tended to drown out Muslim voices – including in Portugal, where before September 11 there was less empirical evidence of anti-Muslimness or tension between majorities and the Muslim minority than in other European countries. These young people, whose parents’ biographies are marked by migration, are not ready to leave their home country, with an overwhelming majority wanting to always live in Portugal (81%, compared to 68% in the non-Muslim sample).

Young Muslims in the context of Studying Youth

32Regarding the issue of religious attachment, one clearly has to bear in mind that we have not compared this group of Muslims – which takes part and manages an Islamic Youth association – with another group of young people who are organised in a religious community. We need to take this methodological limitation into account when we state that 44% of the young Muslims attend religious services on a weekly basis (65% males, 19% females) in comparison only 9% of non-Muslims doing the same.

34In a general discursive context where religious belonging and cultural attitudes are often not differentiated, and where a strong attachment to Islam is often wrongly presented as opposed to or apart from the dominant culture or active Western citizenship, we have consciously chosen this group of religiously dedicated and socio-politically active Muslims for our comparative study: young people who consider Islam and Muslim-ness important matters in their daily life.

35As with other national and regional contexts, studying (Muslim) youth in Portugal presents particular challenges in respect to what to study and indeed whom to study; as Linda Herrera has argued in an editorial of ISIM Review, Youth (in general) has long been treated as a social problem:

• 23  L. Herrera, “Editorial”, ISIM Review, 16, 2005: 4.

“Much of the scholarly and media attention to youth, particularly from the ‘global North’, has focussed on issues such as juvenile delinquency, unemployment, drug abuse, and high-risk sexual behaviour. The situation, however, has been changing. Notwithstanding the persistence of – and continued attention to – the older problems, newer areas also underline the youth as agents of change, creators and consumers of new technologies, trend-setters in the arts, music fashion, and innovators of new forms of political organisations and social movements towards greater social and economic justice.”²³

36In other words, when studying young people, we need to focus on the everyday life experiences of the mainstream rather than the exceptional experiences at the fringes if we are to advance our understanding of contemporary youth and avoid misrepresenting our subjects. Furthermore Herrera comments that in relation to representations of Muslim youth, the emphasis tends to be upon issues of security, religious extremism and violence, thus “reinforcing a single-minded approach to youth” (ibid). This research aimed to counter such reinforcements by applying to young Muslims the same perspectives as those used in the area of “mainstream” Youth Studies to which Muslims in Portugal (and elsewhere) surely belong. Therefore, in this step of research the young Muslims surveyed have not been addressed as “young Muslims,” but rather as young people irrespective of their religious background.

38And still, accordingly to our ethnographic experience, it is indeed important to note that these young Muslims use their “Muslim-ness” as a “social capital” type resource in making the transition to adulthood. But to see such capital as an essentialist property is problematic, since, at least in the case of Portugal, there are these other influences to consider, most notably, what could conceivably be termed their “Portuguese-ness.” This should not come as any surprise, since young Muslims socialise with young non-Muslims in everyday life contexts unrelated to Islamic community life in school, university, professional life, leisure activities or socio-political engagement and self-perceptions and senses of belonging do not refer exclusively to ethnic or religious bonds.

Representing Lisbon Youth and Islam

41Young Portuguese Muslims are not an exception in this respect. Besides the fact that this group of young Portuguese Muslims had been religiously dedicated and, concerning the elder ones among them, engaged in Islamic association work already long before September 11, it is especially during the last years that they are improving their international networking. As mentioned above, they now participate in International networks such as ASMA and the MLT programme which aims to provide platforms for intra-faith conversation among young Muslims on major issues, such as integration, identity struggles, Islamic reactions to secularism, gender equality, among other areas of tension that breed alienation and extremism. The philosophy that informs their approach is that Muslims are part of the solution, and not the problem.

Can you get me a girl?

42Only two and a half hours after the dessert was served at the dinner of CilJovem, the restaurant was a little less crowded. Some went window-shopping in the mall, others debated school issues, weddings or that night’s SLB Benfica (Lisbon) versus Maritimo (from Madeira) football match, having receiving the desperately expected scoreline via text messages on their cell phones. It has been a good night (Benfica won) and as is usual on a Saturday night, everybody is nicely dressed especially the young women. Despite the absence of any extremely short mini skirts or visible belly piercings, their diverse outfits and styles are typical of middle class urban European youth these days, with only a few exceptions of girls dressed in more traditional Indian dresses alongside a some more expensive lady suits. Four little groupings discuss different locations for further adventures tonight: taste in music and number of available cars (many hail from the suburbs) seems to be decisive. Some boys dressed in light Hip-Hop style finally make up their minds to go and courteously wave goodbye to me. “So, you are still up for some nightclubbing?”, I ask, responding to their smile. “Come on, you know that we only celebrate on Fridays....”, one of them states ironically, and we all laugh.

43The young reporter from the student magazine seems to be satisfied after a long and fruitful night‘s work. We sit down for a talk. “I am so surprised”, she says, seemingly tired but happy. “What did you expect?”, I ask back. “I don’t know, maybe more traditional dress codes and headscarves, less patience for my questions or sophistication in their answers”, she admits, “I know these are all prejudices, but really, apart from the darker skin and more consciousness in some political matters, I couldn’t distinguish them from other teens and twenties here.” While we discuss the common confusion of religion, culture and “Portuguese-ness” in public discourse, a photo-reporter arrives, obviously in a hurry, having nearly missed his opportunity to take some pictures of the group of young Muslims. It is close to midnight and last groups are leaving. The photographer addresses one of the young men at the entrance paying the bill with the restaurant manager, and after some explanation, he is sent to our table to ask the reporter if she could help arrange some dinner guests open for a photograph. She will try, is her hesitant and tired answer. I am packing up my questionnaires, saying goodbye while the photographer prepares his equipment. “Can you get me a girl?”, are the last words I can witness while leaving.

44Referring to an example from the UK, some members of Portuguese Muslim youth association CilJovem have recently discussed the idea of inaugurating an online platform where Islamophobic attacks and incidents of discrimination can be listed and made public. They might not have many objective reasons to be “happy at home” in current times, but they do feel “at home” in their country: 89% of them agreed strongly with this position. 88% of the young non-Muslims did so as well.

15 February 2007