The largest Islamic cemetery in the Netherlands opens

The Netherlands will receive more than 16,000 Muslim-friendly burial sites this week. The largest Islamic cemetery in the country opens in Arnhem. This offers a solution for the growing number of Muslims who want to be buried according to Islamic rules, but do not want to be repatriated to their family’s country of origin.

“Then it concerns above all the young generation of Muslims,” ​​says Said Bouharrou, initiator of the Arnhem cemetery. “When the coronavirus pandemic broke out and repatriation was no longer possible, awareness among Muslims increased. I saw around me that people started to realize that they preferred to be buried in the Netherlands.”

However, there wasn’t much room for it. Two Islamic cemeteries and a few cemeteries with an Islamic section have been available in recent years.

The Islamic cemetery in Almere, opened in 2007, is now almost full. There is still room for around 200 Muslims in front of the Zuidlaren cemetery. It won’t be long before this cemetery is also full, since it opened at the start of the corona pandemic, 1300 people have already been buried.

Now Arnhem is added. Bouharrou shows what the Islamic cemetery looks like:

The limited supply of Islamic cemeteries has to do with the norms described in the Quran. The eternal rest of the grave is an example of this. This means that a grave may never be cleaned.

“In the Netherlands it is very difficult to legally guarantee that someone can rest indefinitely in one place,” says Bouharrou. “We have set up a foundation run by the relatives of the people who are buried. Additionally, the cemetery has been designated a protected nature reserve and is a one-time fee which includes all maintenance costs for the future. In this way we can offer an infinite grave rest.”

There are multiple regulations associated with Islamic burial. For example, a body must be underground within 24 hours, not in a coffin, but in a shroud. Also, a body must rest on its right side and face towards Mecca. It is also important that strangers are not buried on top of each other and that the grave has little decoration.

“We worked hard for three years to get this result, but it was worth it,” sighs the initiator Bouharrou.

Muhsin Köktas, president of the Contact Body for Muslims and the Government, which represents many mosques, also likes the new Islamic cemetery. “It is a very positive development for the Muslim community. We are four generations later in the Netherlands and you see that more and more Muslims want to be buried here. This is now also possible. This is a good sign, because when you can be buried somewhere aside, it really is your country.”

With 16,000 places, the Arnhem cemetery ensures that there will be enough space for burial of Muslims in the Netherlands in the coming years. “But more Islamic cemeteries need to be added,” says Bouharrou. “We already have a second site in mind. Eventually we hope to be able to build around four regional cemeteries.”

Not only is Bouharrou involved in this, but others are also engaged in Islamic cemeteries. There are plans to set up such a cemetery in Rotterdam, Utrecht and Tiel.