Local mosque leader urges Muslim families to avoid burials at Thorold, Ont., cemetery

Muslim families are being encouraged to not bury their loved ones at a cemetery in Thorold, Ont., by a leader in their community who says the city’s steps to accommodate Muslim burial practices don’t go far enough.

Thorold politicians tweaked the city’s cemetery policy on June 2 so that burial plots within an existing, open area of the cemetery can be orientated to face the holy city of Mecca as Muslim faith requires.

But Asad Mahmood, imam of Mosque Aisha in Thorold, said the city failed to properly accommodate the Muslim community because it didn’t agree to open up a section of the cemetery land where a Muslim infant is already buried, and where a dedicated Muslim burial area could be created.

City politicians say they’re also willing to offer to have the Muslim child’s body exhumed and reburied at no cost to the family alongside other Muslim graves in the other section, if the family wants. 

Mahmood said the steps taken by the city fall short.

Designated area for Muslim burials was sought

“As a result, we will not be encouraging Muslim families to use Lakeview Cemetery until there is a fair and just solution that provides a designated area for Muslim burials,” he told CBC News. “This issue is not about special treatment. It is about equal treatment, religious accommodation, and ensuring that all residents can bury their loved ones with dignity and according to their faith.”

The city found itself embroiled in controversy six months ago when the family of a Muslim teen girl killed in a car crash, 18-year-old Alina Masud, found out hours before she was to be buried at the Thorold cemetery that the burial couldn’t proceed. 

The shocked family was told a clause in a city bylaw wouldn’t allow the burial in a cemetery area deemed unopened until other sections are filled.

The city offered a different plot but the family instead buried her at a Niagara Falls cemetery.

The city posted an apology online over the controversy at the time, saying the grave was “inadvertently” sold in the unopened area, but city policy prevented the teen girl from being buried where the family wanted.

“We sincerely apologize for the added burden this situation has caused during an already difficult time,” the city said.

The Muslim community, including the girl’s father, held a vigil at Thorold city hall at the time to protest the city’s decision.

The controversy and subsequent meetings on the issue led to accusations of racism that left some city politicians rattled.

“We were the subject of inappropriate threats, verbally on the phone and also social media posts,” Coun. Nella Dekker said at a June 2 city council meeting. 

Coun. Henry D’Angela said he, too, faced the wrath of people believing the city was anti-Muslim.

“I was also accused of being a racist,” he said. “We’re more than willing to work towards accommodation” for religious beliefs. “The whole idea [was] not to have a segregated cemetery.”

Councillor wanted burials in unopened section

Coun. Tim O’Hare pushed to have the city eliminate the clause barring burials in the unopened section so Muslims could be buried there together, but his motion on that was narrowly lost in a vote this week.

Instead, the majority of council opted to agree to Mecca-facing burial plots in an existing section in which non-Muslims are also buried.

CBC News reached out to the city for comments from Mayor Terry Ugulini. In response, the city issued a statement saying council carefully considered several options before opting to accommodate Muslim burial traditions within currently open sections of the cemetery.

“The city remains committed to providing respectful and inclusive cemetery services while balancing the long-term planning and operational needs of the cemetery,” the statement said.

After the December controversy, the city hired a consulting firm to complete an independent review of options for accommodating Muslim burial practices at the cemetery. Consultant Amanda Gebhardt presented city politicians with various options on June 2.

She noted in the report that cemeteries must be “inclusive, non-discriminatory and responsive to community needs” under provincial law, the Ontario Human Rights Code and the Bereavement Authority of Ontario.

“The report clearly defined that this is a basic human right…to ensure that all religions are able to practice their doctrines according to their beliefs,” O’Hare told CBC News. 

He called the city decision to allow Mecca-facing burials for Muslims a “bittersweet” decision because while it’s a step in the right direction it doesn’t allow Muslim burials in the section where the Muslim infant is buried.

“I think that would have been a compassionate decision for council to make,” he said. “I’ve been fighting on behalf of the Muslim community and all religions to be able to have sections in Lakeview Cemetery.”

Mahmood said the new report shows many other Ontario cities have dedicated Muslim burial areas in their cemeteries.

“We’re not asking for anything weird or reasonable. We just wanted a designated spot.”