L | A (Translated with ChatGPT)
The 'Dignified Burial' Association of Muslims in Madrid has called for burial spaces and denounced that only 35 out of the 17,800 cemeteries in Spain are accessible to their community.
In this regard, the president of the movement, Maysoun Douas, explained that there are currently more than 300,000 Muslims in the Community of Madrid, all of whom lack burial spaces that align with their beliefs.
"We are urging public administrations to ensure genuine accessibility to these municipal spaces, as this falls within their jurisdiction. This is not an extraordinary request; we are simply asking for proper alignment with our requirements, as the rest of the funeral protocol remains unchanged," Douas stated during a press briefing at the ECOOO venue, as part of the reflection and debate session titled "Guaranteeing Rights: Access to a Dignified Burial."
She also emphasized that the Spanish Constitution guarantees the right to a dignified burial without discrimination based on religion. In this context, she highlighted that the autonomous communities currently lacking spaces for Muslim burials include Extremadura, Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, Castilla-La Mancha, and Madrid.
She further noted that Muslims in the Community of Madrid must seek alternative solutions on their own, such as private spaces outside the region, in Valencia, or repatriation. "However, not all Muslims are foreigners, and this means that Spanish Muslims do not have a place to be buried and rest," she stressed.
She also explained that some Muslims have been kept in refrigeration chambers for up to three months while waiting for a solution. Regarding the financial implications, she noted that the cost for families can range from €3,000 to €12,000, depending on the final resting place of the deceased.
Regarding the cemeteries in Griñón and Carabanchel, Douas stated that the former has not accepted new burials for nearly two years. As for the latter, she mentioned that it is awaiting the development of a plot that meets the necessary criteria for Muslim burials.
In the same vein, she pointed out that in Barcelona, "before Covid, they realized this was a problem that needed to be addressed and began taking action, making several spaces available."
"LACK OF INFORMATION" and "PASSIVITY"
On the other hand, Carmen Fernández, who faced various difficulties burying her Muslim husband in Madrid, lamented the "lack of information" on this issue and the "passivity" of the authorities. "My problem was that I knew nothing about the burial system, nothing about the procedures, or what needed to be done in the case of a Muslim burial," she stated.
Carmen assured that, in the end, she buried her husband in Griñón, but years later, she found out that the cemeteries were not Catholic, as she had believed, but were open to all faiths. "I didn't know. Had I known, I would have been quite upset to find out that I had to travel several kilometers to bury my husband when I could have buried him in a municipal cemetery," she remarked.
The creation of 'Dignified Burial' followed citizen mobilizations in 2013 to protest the closure of the Griñón cemetery. "It highlighted the need to defend this basic constitutional right in a more structured way," the association stated.
The 'Dignified Burial' Association of Muslims in Madrid has called for burial spaces and denounced that only 35 out of the 17,800 cemeteries in Spain are accessible to their community.
In this regard, the president of the movement, Maysoun Douas, explained that there are currently more than 300,000 Muslims in the Community of Madrid, all of whom lack burial spaces that align with their beliefs.
"We are urging public administrations to ensure genuine accessibility to these municipal spaces, as this falls within their jurisdiction. This is not an extraordinary request; we are simply asking for proper alignment with our requirements, as the rest of the funeral protocol remains unchanged," Douas stated during a press briefing at the ECOOO venue, as part of the reflection and debate session titled "Guaranteeing Rights: Access to a Dignified Burial."
She also emphasized that the Spanish Constitution guarantees the right to a dignified burial without discrimination based on religion. In this context, she highlighted that the autonomous communities currently lacking spaces for Muslim burials include Extremadura, Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, Castilla-La Mancha, and Madrid.
She further noted that Muslims in the Community of Madrid must seek alternative solutions on their own, such as private spaces outside the region, in Valencia, or repatriation. "However, not all Muslims are foreigners, and this means that Spanish Muslims do not have a place to be buried and rest," she stressed.
She also explained that some Muslims have been kept in refrigeration chambers for up to three months while waiting for a solution. Regarding the financial implications, she noted that the cost for families can range from €3,000 to €12,000, depending on the final resting place of the deceased.
Regarding the cemeteries in Griñón and Carabanchel, Douas stated that the former has not accepted new burials for nearly two years. As for the latter, she mentioned that it is awaiting the development of a plot that meets the necessary criteria for Muslim burials.
In the same vein, she pointed out that in Barcelona, "before Covid, they realized this was a problem that needed to be addressed and began taking action, making several spaces available."
"LACK OF INFORMATION" and "PASSIVITY"
On the other hand, Carmen Fernández, who faced various difficulties burying her Muslim husband in Madrid, lamented the "lack of information" on this issue and the "passivity" of the authorities. "My problem was that I knew nothing about the burial system, nothing about the procedures, or what needed to be done in the case of a Muslim burial," she stated.
Carmen assured that, in the end, she buried her husband in Griñón, but years later, she found out that the cemeteries were not Catholic, as she had believed, but were open to all faiths. "I didn't know. Had I known, I would have been quite upset to find out that I had to travel several kilometers to bury my husband when I could have buried him in a municipal cemetery," she remarked.
The creation of 'Dignified Burial' followed citizen mobilizations in 2013 to protest the closure of the Griñón cemetery. "It highlighted the need to defend this basic constitutional right in a more structured way," the association stated.
