ABSTRACT
According to some Portuguese historians and ethnographers of the 19th century, as well as orientalists of the first decades of the 20th, the Arabs did not have a starring role in Portuguese history. These narratives fit much of the arguments discussed by Edward W. Said in Orientalism (1978), as they represent the Arabs in a very derogatory way. After 1974, with the reinstatement of Democracy in Portugal, these Christian-nationalistic narratives lost some of their influence. Contemporary historians, archaeologists, and independent researchers considered the medieval Gharb a pinnacle of cultural sophistication, prosperity, and enlightenment. In the literary field, this thesis gained momentum in 1987, when Adalberto Alves published a collection of poems entitled O Meu Coração é Árabe: a Poesia Luso-Árabe, with texts by 39 Gharb al-Andalus poets. In this book – and others that followed – Alves complemented and amplified the controversial question of the Arabic influence on the forms and spirit of Iberian courtly poetry, namely the Galician-Portuguese lyric. Furthermore, Gharb al-Andalus is described as a “paradise lost” of tolerance and wisdom, radically opposed to the colonial mentality dominant before the 1974 Revolution. In this chapter, I will discuss the current use of the concept of Luso-Arabic poetry, presenting it as an example of “Counter-Orientalism” (Mallette 2010). First, I will show how the concept of Luso-Arabic poetry introduced a selective discourse about the Gharb al-Andalus through the exaltation of its poets and significant aspects of its culture. Second, I will explain how this concept paved the way for a historical narrative to build a more “authentic” Portuguese identity. Third, I will look at contemporary Portuguese poets inspired by Islamic poetry and philosophy. I will show that this subtle influence changes the idea of literary tradition by introducing new ways of understanding poetic writing.
