More and more Islamic cemeteries: “We are also Dutch, why should we be buried in Morocco?”

A few hundred concrete blocks – next to each other or stacked – stand in the winter sun, with a wasteland behind it. They are intended as burial cellars for Muslims. The site was purchased by the Special Islamic Cemeteries Foundation in the Netherlands (Bibin) in collaboration with the El-Hassani Mosque in Tiel and will be one of the few cemeteries in the Netherlands in about three months with eternal burial rest (a requirement for Islamitic buried). The burial rights in such a place are not. Cremation is forbidden in Islam.

It will be Bibin’s second cemetery. The first is located in Zuidlaren (Drenthe), opened at the start of the coronacrisis in 2020. During that period, many Muslims could not be buried in the country of origin, so that more such graves were needed.

If I die now, I will be buried in Zuidlaren. That’s not nice for my family

In addition, with more and more second and later generations of Muslims, the desire not to be ordered to be ordered in the land of the (grand) parents, says Hamed Amrino (58) of Bibin while looking over the future cemetery. “We are also Dutch, why should we be buried in Morocco, Turkey, Tunisia or other countries?”

The Netherlands has a number of Islamic cemeteries with eternal burial, next to Zuidlaren also in Almere and Arnhem. Muslims can also be buried in some general cemeteries, such as in Ulestraten in Limburg and in Bergen op Zoom in Brabant, where the Catholic cemetery has set up a place for Muslims.

Tiel

Nevertheless, the number of limited and relatives is often traveling far to visit the grave of a loved one. Amrino itself lives in Utrecht, for example. “If I die now, I will be buried in Zuidlaren. That’s not nice for my family. ” He points to the cemetery that is located next to the future Islamic cemetery. Those who are not a Muslim can in principle almost always be buried around the corner, he says.

According to Amrino, there is a great need for new places. In Zuidlaren, the site, with two hundred free places, is almost full. On average, two people are buried a week. In Tiel, buying a piece of land was surprisingly fast, because the municipality happened to have a location available. In other municipalities it is not always that smooth, Amrino knows from experience. Local residents sometimes oppose a cemetery, municipalities also do not always cooperate.

At the moment there are plans for Islamic cemeteries in various municipalities. Is in Rotterdam foundthe Muslim community must now raise money. In Roosendaal, an initiator also has a Location in mind. Bibin himself wants to expand in Zuidlaren and open a new location in Utrecht, but is also involved in plans in other municipalities.

The Hague

If everything goes well, Muslims from The Hague can be buried in their own city in two years. The mayor and aldermen have a location in mind, but the exact place has not yet been announced. For the Hague alderman Nur Icar (DENK), the realization of an Islamic cemetery was one of the main reasons to become an alderman, he says. “In The Hague we have 170 nationalities in the city. When Muslims die, they are often repatriated. And especially in the Moroccan or Turkish community. You don’t really have that with other population groups. They can’t go back because of a war situation, for example. “

But he also noticed that there is a generation that wants to be buried in the Netherlands. “That is the group with whom I grew up. This topic lives very much for them. And in The Hague there are no options for eternal burial. “

Icar also finds such a location important at this time. “The debate about integration and acceptance is now being held very negatively. So it is extra important that we can say to the generation of Muslims who were born and raised here: you can be from Hagenaar from cradle to grave. ”

A feasibility study takes place in the first quarter of 2025. Only then can Icar say whether the location is suitable and how long it will take before the cemetery can be used. Financing is also important: the municipality has found a place, but the money must come from the Muslim community.

Maqbara

The largest Islamic cemetery in the Netherlands is in Arnhem. There is room for 16,000 adults and 4,000 babies or fetuses. The location was open in 2023 and there is a lot of enthusiasm, says initiator Saïd Bouharrou van Maqbara (Arabic for ‘cemetery’). “Both the first generation and after. And we bury many different nationalities. “

Bouharrou receives many questions or requests for help from mosques or organizations that want to set up cemeteries in the Netherlands. “So much, we can’t all facilitate and invite them. What we see as a common thread: it is underestimated what comes with such a cemetery. ” His urgent advice is that people of those plans make a “serious business case”. For example: the land is often sold expensive by the municipality. To keep burial somewhat affordable, the financing of the cemetery must be properly arranged, says Bouharrou. And maintenance also costs money. “People think: change zoning plan, we go around with the cap and then it will be fine. That is short through the bend. “

People think: change zoning plan, we go around with the cap and then it will be fine. That is too short because of the bend

Maqbara has since bought a new piece of land for a new cemetery, somewhere in the Randstad. “We bury quite a lot of people from that region in Arnhem.” Bouharrou cannot yet tell the location until the plan is more concrete. He hopes to be able to open within a year and a half.

Bouharrou also sees that younger generations have much more connection with the Netherlands than with countries such as Turkey or Morocco. The Coronapandemie has enlarged consciousness. “At that time, people from the first generation were also buried in the Netherlands. The family members see that it is fine. ” According to Bouharrou, the younger generation nowadays also talks much easier with the older generation about being buried in the Netherlands. “The older generation is becoming more sensitive to that. Their children do not like that they can only visit their parents once a year, or once every two years in a distant country. ”

Amrino also says that a taboo has disappeared due to the coronacrisis. “Since then, much more has come to realize: where do I actually want to be buried? There was no talk about that. “

False

In Tiel there will be room for four thousand people, including babies. In addition, there will be a funeral center, in what the mosque is now. The prayer house itself moves to a new location. In about three months, Amrino thinks, the first person can be buried. Until then, the site still has to be raised. All burial cellars are then buried and closed. For a funeral, Bibin only has to remove the top layer. The concrete cellars prevent subsidence. “By putting everything in the ground now, we will soon have much less work.”

The burial cellars come in different sizes. In the larger blocks a box can, in the somewhat narrower blocks, people who are only in one can kafana shroud, being laid too rest.

Municipalities are usually reluctant to free up land for Islamic cemeteries, Amrino notes. “They hide behind the fact that the Netherlands is too small, that little land is available. But as far as we are concerned, no new land needs to be issued at all. ” The number of cremations in the Netherlands has increased in recent years, approximately 67 percent of the deceased is cremated. According to Amrino, as a result, general cemeteries are placed army, because burial rights also run and are not extended. Amrino: “Sell those cemeteries to us, then you don’t have to spend anything new.”

To share





Mail the editors