Muslim Cemeteries near Solihull
Two applications come before the planning committee next month. They are for Muslim-only cemeteries near the village of Catherine-de-Barnes in Solihull, near Birmingham.
These applications are for two sites covering 11 acres on viable farmland situated within the Green Belt conservation zone. They would have room for 11,000 Muslim graves. The local authority and national planning regulations both expressly forbid development in Green Belt areas.
(links: http://ww2.solihull.gov.uk/planning_new/dc/ViewApp.asp andhttp://ww2.solihull.gov.uk/planning_new/dc/ViewApp.asp)
Of course, people (or their cremated remains) need to be buried somewhere but the uproar over this proposal is that it is simply not necessary in order to deal with the needs of the local population, which consists of just 613 people. It would mean the facility could eventually hold over 18 times as many people as currently live in the village itself.
The leader of Solihull Council, Conservative councillor Bob Sleigh, has said: ‘There is no need for this extra site in Solihull. We have identified our population need and made provision for that.’ So obviously this is a long-term project to gather together dead Muslims from all over the Midlands if not further afield.
Local authorities deal with the issue of burials for the local populations all the time as the Solihull councillors have done. Therefore the issue is not whether there is space for the local population. The heart of the problem is the Islamic attitude that even the Muslim dead are better than the non-Muslim dead. As in life so in death. In life, Muslims are better than non-Muslims and are not supposed to befriend unbelievers. ‘Take not for friends unbelievers rather than believers…’ (Quran 3:28 and 4:144). Muslims are only supposed to associate with non-Muslims to conduct necessary business. And in Quran 9:28 non-Muslims are considered ritually unclean.
‘O you who believe (in Allah’s Oneness and in His Messenger (Muhammad SAW)! Verily, the Mushrikun (polytheists, pagans, idolaters, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah, and in the Message of Muhammad SAW) are Najasun (impure).’
We see this attitude all around us. From refusing non-Muslim handshakes, to Muslim-only swimming sessions, segregated classrooms, separate law courts (preferring sharia courts), Legoland fun and games, food preparation and consumption, complying with normal hygiene standards in hospitals, equal treatment over the counter at supermarkets and theatres, etc.
It is no wonder that such bigotry in life carries over into death. But there is more. According to The Reliance of the Traveller (the classical handbook of Islamic theology and understanding) Muslims must not even share the same grave with other Muslims. ‘It is also unlawful to bury two people in the same grave…’ (*2*Chapter G5.0: Burial @G5.1). So they take up more space than non-Muslim grave sites where families can, and sometimes do, share graves.
According to Islam, non-Muslims are destined for hell so why should a Muslim, even in death, want to risk that contamination? During one of his many battles Mohammed made it clear to his adversary that, ‘We are not equal. Our dead are in paradise, your dead in hell.’ (Ibn Ishaq, 386).
This sentiment is confirmed in The Reliance of the Traveller: ‘One must know that Allah Most High with His vast mercy, is terrible in retribution, having decreed that unbelievers shall abide in hell forever (dis: w55)’
The local paper says: ‘The graveyard would be able to comply fully with Sharia law which states Muslims are traditionally buried in their own section of land, next to others of the same faith.’
Absolute necessity allows for Muslims to be buried in a non-Muslim graveyard, but, if at all possible: ‘The deceased Muslims must be buried in a graveyard that is exclusively for them. It is not permissible to bury them in non-Muslim graveyards.’ The reverse is also true: Non-Muslims must not be buried in the same site as Muslims. [http://islamqa.info/en/7866 ]
A final point to mention is that a Muslim grave is perpetual. ‘It is not permissible to disturb them, whether by digging up the remains, walking over the graves or any other form of disrespect.’ [http://islamqa.info/en/4698]
So we are once again confronted with Sharia-pushers who, refusing to integrate during their lifetime, continue that same non-integration into death. The encroachment on our ‘green and pleasant land’ becomes a territorial conquest which becomes less and less England and more and more like Mecca.
The EDL supports the local opposition to this cemetery and will be giving a shout out about it during our next demo in Birmingham on 11 October. Join us!
http://www.englishdefenceleague.org/apartheid-in-life-and-in-death/
