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| Tennessee Residents Reject Plans for Muslim Cemetery |
| 2005-01-04 |
| Residents near Memphis, Tennessee have objected to plans for a Muslim cemetery, suggesting that the cemetery could bring "terrorism and disease" to the area. When local Muslims announced plans to turn an old farm near Memphis into a cemetery, angry neighbors protested saying the burial ground could become "a staging ground for terrorists or spread disease from unembalmed bodies." Faced with a flurry of objections they believe are based on their religion, representatives of the Muslim Society of Memphis withdrew their proposal to build a cemetery in the county. Dr. Muhamed Zaman, a professor of medicine at the University of Tennessee and president of the Muslim Society of Memphis, told Arab News by phone yesterday that the majority of local residents in the immediate area of the 27-acre Fayette County tract do not seem to be opposed. The Fayette County Planning Commission approved the proposal, and Dr. Zaman said the proposed site is in an area with 17 existing cemeteries, including one located directly across the road. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #12 Until just recently Florida law required you to be cremated in a casket. :( |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-01-04 3:49:45 PM |
| #11 I'll take your word for it, LH - every funeral I've been to the body was embalmed how would you know, unless it was you were doing the arrangements, or it was open casket? Again, open casket violates Jewish, and, I think, muslim, practice. As does any delay in burial. |
| Posted by: Liberalhawk 2005-01-04 2:16:27 PM |
| #10 Barbara, nope, the real reason embalming became a widespread practice in this country had nothing to do with health. It was to preserve bodies for transport back home during the Civil War. Unless you are doing a viewing several days after the death, you really don't need it. Most states don't require it nowadays. Matter of fact, back in the 80's I believe there were some undertakers refusing to embalm AIDS victims because doing so would have endangered their health more than leaving the bodies intact. Dead bodies, although sometimes kinda gross, aren't really much of a health hazard if you don't leave them around to become maggot breeding areas, or so that wild animals can eat them. The only possible exception that I could think of recently was during the Ebola outbreaks in Africa, where the corpses were wrapped in plastic. If you bury them in not-so-soggy soil, they aren't going to contaminate the groundwater, either. That's mainly funeral parlor talk to get you to spend lotsa $$ on sealed casket liners (THAT'S when it gets really disgusting....you don't wanna be around if they have to open one of those things. I will spare you the details, but let me put it this way.....anaerobic decomposition is unbelievably revolting.) Sorry, I bet that was way too much information. My bad. |
| Posted by: Desert Blondie 2005-01-04 2:09:28 PM |
| #9 I'll take your word for it, LH - every funeral I've been to the body was embalmed, and I seem to remember one of the states I lived in required it. Surprised it's not required in all, unless the body is cremated (quickly). Wonder why it's not a public health hazard to bury unembalmed bodies? Wouldn't that create a problem with the groundwater? (Or, perhaps, didn't it create a problem before we came up with modern sealed caskets?) Or maybe that's more about dead bodies than I would want to know. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2005-01-04 1:55:31 PM |
| #8 " embalming required by law? In California, Except in certain special cases, embalming is not required by law. Embalming may be necessary, however, if you select certain funeral arrangements, such as a funeral with viewing. If you do not want embalming, you usually have the right to choose an arrangement which does not require you to pay for it, such as direct cremation or immediate burial. Embalming sanitizes and provides temporary preservation of the body, decelerates the decomposition process, and enhances the appearance of a body disfigured by traumatic death or illness. Embalming makes it possible to lengthen the time between death and the final disposition, thus allowing family member´s time to arrange and participate in the type of service most meaningful to them. " well that explains it. Jews bury right away, usually within 24 hours, and dont view. Muslims follow the same customs, IIUC. |
| Posted by: Liberalhawk 2005-01-04 1:37:16 PM |
| #7 I've got a problem with that. In most (if not all) states, a body is required to be either embalmed or cremated. Im quite sure thats NOT correct. Both embalming and cremation violate Jewish practice as well by the way. Ive lost two parents, and Im quite sure we didnt embalm or cremate either. |
| Posted by: Liberalhawk 2005-01-04 1:35:02 PM |
| #6 In most (if not all) states, a body is required to be either embalmed or cremated. Bullets & JDAM's usually solve those problems... |
| Posted by: Raj 2005-01-04 1:16:22 PM |
| #5 The story implied that muslims bury their dead unembalmed. I've got a problem with that. In most (if not all) states, a body is required to be either embalmed or cremated. It really is a health thing. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2005-01-04 12:15:21 PM |
| #4 The way they are perceived now, any collection of Muslims is a staging ground for terrorists. |
| Posted by: Whutch Threth6418 2005-01-04 12:09:47 PM |
| #3 I have no problem with muslim cemeteries, I think we need more of them. Great, big, huge cemeteries, starting with the area between the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea. |
| Posted by: Steve 2005-01-04 11:55:39 AM |
| #2 Edward, many religious organizations have their own cemeteries. I can't speak to NYC, but I know that in Buffalo, NY and Cincinnati, OH the Catholics have their own church-run cemeteries, as does the Jewish community and various of the Protestant denominations. In fact, if you look at a map, there are several 'cemetery rows,' with the various cemeteries lying right next to each other, with shared wrought iron fences between. I've no doubt there are also non-denominational cemeteries, for those who do not choose to be buried with their co-religionists in hallowed ground. I don't see the problem with adding a Muslim cemetery to an area where 17 others already exist, so long as the treatment of the bodies conforms to local laws. Clearly the Muslims already have organized into a congregation, whether or not the Saudis have built them a mosque. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-01-04 7:39:02 AM |
| #1 What, are Muslims supposed to be too good to be buried with kufr? The Roman Catholic Church is by default much more unified per se than Islam, yet they don't want to build special cemeteries designed to prevent Catholics from being buried alongside Protestants, Jews, or even "Chinese popular religionists"! (I'm speaking as a non-religious member of the last. My grandmother even visited a fortune teller due to marital problems at home; apparently we're an unlucky family due to problems on both sides, I'm "bright but with a mind of [my] own" ...) |
| Posted by: Edward Yee 2005-01-04 3:10:08 AM |