Aljamía
This text looks like it is written in Arabic. And indeed, it was produced using the Arabic script/alphabet but the text is actually in Portuguese. The title written on the first line would be transcribed in Latin script as “Tralado de carta de cide Iáhia a el rei nosso senhor”.
I came across this document in a book written in 1897 by the historian David Lopes and titled “Textos em aljamía portuguesa”. It is a precious testimony of a socio-linguistic phenomenon that happened in the Iberian Peninsula during the 15th and 16th centuries. Indeed, Muslims kept using Arabic script to transcribe texts in Romance languages such as Castillan, Aragonese or Old Portuguese. This practice is known as aljamía or aljamiado in Europe. It was a way for Muslims to navigate between the adoption of Latin-based languages to blend into society and the preservation of Arabic, to which aljamía testified their attachment. Laws prohibiting the use of Arabic in Spain and Portugal will put an end to the production of aljamía manuscripts in the 16th century.
Bio
I am Hajer Khader. In 2022 I founded Bairro Árabe, a cultural initiative that disseminates knowledge about the Arab and Islamic legacy in Portuguese culture, through online content creation, events and guided walks in Lisbon. In 2025, I directed and self-produced a short documentary film titled “A Mouraria Cá e Lá” selected for CICLOPE (Ciclo de Primeiras Estreias) at the Cinema São Jorge. Previously, I obtained a Master in International Management and worked in financial services and event management for 14 years. I am currently a first-year PhD student in Culture Studies at Universidade Católica Portuguesa while still championing Bairro Árabe.
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