Proposal for U.S. Muslim cemetery shrouded in suspicion

Accusations of Islamophobia are swirling through rural Dudley, Mass., where a proposal to construct a Muslim-only cemetery has drawn criticism from town residents. Leaders of a local mosque want to claim a 55-acre plot of dormant dairy farmland for the project, but opponents claim a Muslim burial site will bring vandalism, heavy traffic, and noisy late-night Islamic calls to prayer.

“A lot of people moved here because it’s peaceful and quiet,” said resident Desiree Moninksi. “I just don’t want a cemetery here, period. Any kind of cemetery. It doesn’t matter what kind.”

While locals cite many reasons for resistance, the biggest concern over an Islamic cemetery may be the chance of groundwater contamination. In a Muslim burial service, the body is placed directly in the ground, with no embalming and no coffin. For some, the practice seems both spooky and risky.

“You can Google and see how [Muslims] bury and … it’s not a pretty sight,” said Michael Roche, who lives next to the proposed site. “And I don’t think it’s safe at all.”

But cemetery developers and activists say opposition is rooted in thinly veiled bigotry, not ecological concern. Environmental experts say coffin-less corpses pose little threat to the water table, and in some cases, an un-embalmed body is actually better for groundwater, according to hydrologist Douglas Cweink.

“[A] Muslim funeral is not in any way different from the traditional Jewish or traditional Christian burial,” said Khalid Khan Sadozai, president of the Islamic Society of Greater Worcester, Mass. “It is [a] very green burial.”

There are few dedicated Muslim cemeteries across the United States, and proponents say the need is great. Under Islamic law, the body must be buried by sundown on the day of death, or within 24 hours. For most traditional cemeteries, this presents a significant scheduling problem. Muslim burial rituals also involve a system of washing, perfuming, and shrouding the body, services most cemeteries aren’t equipped to provide. Muslim burial services are typically quiet, and the Quran forbids mourners to wail or express uncontrolled grief.

In recent months, proposals for Muslim cemeteries in Texas, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania have met with similarly mixed feelings. In some cases, opponents have buried the projects, while in others, Muslim groups appealed and judges cleared the way.

In Farmersville, near Dallas, some residents were openly hostile during meetings over a plan to build a Muslim-specific graveyard on a 35-acre site just outside the city. The town is near Garland, Texas, which made headlines last year when two Islamic State followers opened fire outside a cartoon contest lampooning the Prophet Muhammad, before being fatally shot by local police.

According to the latest estimate, fewer than 1 percent of America’s population identifies as Muslim. But Islam is the third-largest religion in the U.S., following Christianity and Judaism. According to a 2011 survey referenced in the Huffington Post, the number of mosques in the country mushroomed by 74 percent in just one decade.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.