“The mosque will not be built. The Praça da Mouraria will not be constructed,” stated Joana Almeida, the Urban Planning Councilor, who was elected independently through the PSD/CDS-PP/MPT/PPM/Alliance coalition, during the Lisbon Municipal Assembly meeting as part of the question period to the council, about four months before the end of the 2021-2025 term.
The topic of the Praça da Mouraria project, which includes the construction of a mosque, was raised by PS deputy Rui Paulo Figueiredo, who sought to confirm whether the political stance of the PSD/CDS-PP leadership is to not proceed with the proposal approved in 2012 by the council, when António Costa (PS) was in the presidency.
Acknowledging the various decisions already made in municipal bodies and the “extensive debate” surrounding the Praça da Mouraria project, the socialist questioned if the PSD/CDS-PP leadership, which governs without an absolute majority, intends to propose “reversing the decisions in place” to the council, considering that, if this intention is confirmed, the Chega party is to be congratulated “since it signifies a progression made by several parties to the right of PS over the months.”
The latest decision was made last Tuesday, when the Lisbon Municipal Assembly decided, with votes against from PSD, IL, PPM, CDS-PP, and Chega, to recommend the construction of a mosque in the Martim Moniz — Alameda axis, after consulting with communities practicing Islam.
In response, Councilor Joana Almeida confirmed that, regarding the Urban Planning department, “no project” existed for the Praça da Mouraria.
“There is no project in Urban Planning, so we did not set aside anything. We simply focused on what we want to realize, which is a new project for the new [Avenida] Almirante Reis and a new project for the Praça do Martim Moniz. That is our focus and nothing else in this area, from a public space intervention viewpoint,” declared the councilor.
In January, during a hearing with municipal assembly committees as part of the evaluation work for the possible construction of a mosque in Mouraria, the Deputy Mayor, Filipe Anacoreta Correia (CDS-PP), characterized the Praça da Mouraria process as “at least, winding.”
Anacoreta Correia explained that the process began in 2009, under former mayor António Costa (PS), where the first decision was made in 2012, and subsequently, in 2015, a public utility declaration of urgent expropriation for three private buildings on Rua do Benformoso followed.
The Deputy Mayor also mentioned awareness of a 2013 protocol between the municipality and the Bangladesh Islamic Centre – Baitul Mukarram Mosque for setting up the mosque as part of the Praça da Mouraria project but clarified that “there was no decision” to approve it.
“A paper is not enough for it to exist institutionally,” he emphasized, dismissing any obligations of the council to fulfill this protocol.
In today’s assembly meeting, IL deputy Angélique da Teresa reiterated criticism of the “strange expropriation” and argued that “the mosque cannot be built at that location,” asserting that the construction proposal in Mouraria encourages “the creation of ghettos.”
“If there is to be a change at that location, it should be to break through part of Rua do Benformoso so it connects to Avenida Almirante Reis,” suggested the liberal.
Reaffirming that the mosque will not be built in Mouraria, the Urban Planning Councilor further remarked that regarding the expropriations, the council awaits the decision of a pending judicial process where one of the expropriated parties has filed an appeal, to then find “a definitive solution.”
