U.S. Muslims face opposition to cemetery

12/28/2004 3:00:00 PM GMT

Source: The Olympian

Muslims in the United States decided to build a cemetery in the Fayette County, near Memphis, Tenn., but the neighbors complained, claiming that the burial site could spread diseases.

This isn’t the first time Muslims face resistance when trying to build a cemetery or a mosque, but the problem showed the growing anti-Muslims sentiments.

Usually, opponents complain about potential damage to the environment, reduced property values and traffic problems, but many also link Islam with terrorism.

Rabiah Ahmed of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said that there was more resistance to Muslim building proposals after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, adding that she wasn’t even surprised by the cemetery opponents near Memphis.

"It's not shocking, but it is discouraging," Ahmed said.

Belinda Ghosheh, owner of the old farm being considered for the cemetery, said that a hostile crowd gathered outside the farm when planning officials came to visit. One woman yelled, "We don't need bin Laden's cousins in our neighborhood."

"These people would possibly have been our neighbors if we had decided to build on that property," she said. "If this doesn't go through, we're still getting rid of it. I would never live out there now."

Opponents also claimed that the cemetery could spread diseases because Muslims traditionally do not embalm their dead. But Muhammad Zaman, a physician and associate professor of medicine at the University of Tennessee, said that the practice is completely safe.

"The decomposition of the human body does not add anything different than what it is," Zaman said.

“Special use” zoning exemption

The planning commission sent a “special use” zoning exemption to the Muslim Society of Memphis. But a committee of the elected county commission protested, saying that the application was removed before a vote by the full commission.

Memphis businessman Mohammad Halimah said that the group is considering many alternatives, including refiling the request. He also said that he and many other Muslims are trying to meet neighbors individually to discuss their concerns. They say that building a mosque on the site is also a possibility.

Halimah also noted that there are at least 15,000 Muslims in the Memphis area, and that their small private cemetery is running out of burial space.

He explained that the complaints are often based on ignorance, adding that opponents do not understand that Islam teaches peace.

"Our religion stresses acceptance by our neighbors," Halimah said. "Even if the law is on our side, religiously we have to be careful."