Muslims in US Face Difficulties in Acquiring Burial Plots - Reports

President Barack Obama meets with Muslim community members at the Islamic Society of Baltimore

Washington, 18 Rajab 1437/26 April 2016 (MINA) – Muslims in the US are facing difficulties in acquiring land for the burial of their deceased, according to US media reports.

While some plans have been approved after court proceedings, much to the “dismay of many residents,” others have not, reports ABC News.

Neighbors of some these plots say they fear burial practices could “contaminate groundwater” due to the fact that Muslims traditionally bury their dead without coffins, while some residents say they would be “bothered” by the Islamic call to prayer, added the report.

These sentiments have been expressed by communities around the US where Muslim cemeteries have been proposed, including Farmervsille, Texas, Walpole, Massachusetts, Carlisle, Pennsylvania and Farmington, Minnesota.

The report mentions further that in Dudley, Massachusetts, Muslim leaders have agreed to bury bodies in coffins or concrete vaults in order to appease residents on contamination fears. (T/R07/R01)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)