Backlash greets plans for Muslim cemeteries across US
Associated Press
DUDLEY, MASS.
On the site of a long-idle dairy farm, leaders of a local mosque hope to build a final resting place for about 500 Muslim families – to the dismay of many residents of this quaint town in central Massachusetts.
In arguments cemetery developers and activists decry as thinly veiled bigotry, neighbors say they fear burial practices could contaminate groundwater because Muslims traditionally do not embalm bodies and bury their dead without coffins. They also cite concerns about noise, vandalism and increased traffic on the narrow road where the cemetery would be built. One resident said he worried he would have to put up with “crazy music” like the Islamic call to prayer.
Similar sentiments have been expressed by people in communities around the country where Muslim cemeteries have been proposed, including Farmervsille, Texas; Walpole, Mass.; Carlisle, Pa.; and Farmington, Minn.
In some cases, opponents have succeeded in defeating the new cemetery projects, while in others, Muslim groups have appealed and judges have cleared the way.
In Farmersville, near Dallas, some residents were openly hostile during meetings on a proposal to build a Muslim cemetery on a 35-acre site just outside the city. Farmersville is not far from Garland, where police fatally shot two Islamic State followers last year after they opened fire outside a cartoon contest lampooning the Prophet Muhammad.
“People don’t trust Muslims. Their goal is to populate the United States and take it over,” Barbara Ashcraft said at a meeting in August.
City leaders were so bombarded with complaints that they published an informational guide on the city’s website, assuring residents that there is “no training facility planned for this site ... no terrorist activity associated with this site ... no plans for a mosque at this site.”
In Dudley, the proposal from the Islamic Society of Greater Worcester has been met with angry comments at local meetings.
“You want a Muslim cemetery? Fine. Put it in your backyard, not mine,” Daniel Grazulis said at a zoning meeting in February, drawing a round of applause.
Jason Talerman, a lawyer for the Islamic Society, said he believes the opposition is rooted in Islamophobia. “They like to say it under the guise of, ‘Oh, we’re just trying to protect our water supply,’ but it’s thinly veiled,” he said.
Desiree Moninski, who lives across the street from the site, once farmed by her grandparents, said she and other opponents have legitimate concerns that have nothing to do with Islam.
“I grew up here. It’s farmland, and I’d like to see it stay that way,” she said.
Amjad Bhatti, president of the Islamic Society, said some of the comments have hurt because he considers the U.S. his home after moving from Pakistan 20 years ago and raising his family here.