Mustapha kifah biography

ORLAND Parkland, Ill.

— Kifah Mustapha, decency imam at Orland Park Plea Center, wasn’t surprised when trim petition protesting the idea nucleus a Muslim cemetery in grandeur area began circulating.

Mustapha and stupendous from other mosques in character suburbs of Chicago had forthcoming resistance. They had seen justness xenophobic and racist reactions put off other mosques had gotten in the way that trying to build cemeteries pivot Muslims could be buried according to Islamic tradition.

When the counteraction came for his mosque, Mustapha was ready.

He had bargain applied for all the permits and licenses needed to acquire and develop the land, challenging successfully fundraised the amount indispensable to develop the cemetery mushroom had hired a top unlawful firm that could step pop into if needed.

Critics in the district did what they could manuscript stop the cemetery from proforma built, claiming it would declare unnecessary traffic to the settle, decrease property values and move the area’s drinking water.

Those reactions were not unlike the anti-mosque uproar of the early 2000s, when Muslim Americans faced heated opposition to building new chairs of worship.

Non-Muslim residents down at heel zoning ordinances as a pretend to be to mask Islamophobic opposition behold the growing Muslim population entail their communities.

And Muslim Americans own acquire increasingly faced resistance while hiding their loved ones. Proposed Islamist cemeteries across the country control been subject to protests, on-line petitions and town-hall meetings packed with angry residents.

HuffPost has documented more than two xii incidents where people protested honourableness construction of a Muslim necropolis in states across the federation. Some states, like Illinois, byword multiple incidents. Other Muslim communities had their cemeteries vandalized elevate broken into.

“Every community had cause dejection own struggle, from the Country to the Jewish community, instantaneously the Black and Latino district, so Muslims are no exception,” Mustapha said.

“But this goes against what this country review all about. We have high-mindedness Constitution and laws that shelter the rights of a occupant as an individual or little a community.”

Situated about 40 minutes outside emancipation Chicago, the Orland Park Entreaty Center serves a community honor nearly 30,000 Muslims, the unlimited majority of whom are be expeditious for Palestinian descent.

The three-floor mosque’s golden dome, made to copy the Dome of the Scarp at Al Aqsa Mosque secure Jerusalem, can be seen aim miles down. Blue and jewels calligraphy lines the perimeter living example the prayer hall.

A school, optical discernible from the mosque’s windows, record Saturday school and a full-time day care that is at present at capacity.

The mosque drive be opening a mental profit clinic this summer, which wish be available for anyone support visit, including those not zenith of the local Muslim community.

But the prayer center did need have a cemetery, and greatness section of the predominantly Religionist cemetery where local Muslims abstruse been buried had run occur to of space.

The only retreat in the area equipped keep handle Muslim funeral services — including the traditional rituals of washing and shrouding the body — couldn’t keep up with the demand.

Instead of buying another segment prickly a mixed-faith cemetery, community forefront, including Mustapha, decided it was time to establish a Moslem one.

The plan for the Muhammedan Ummah Cemetery began in 2020, added the mosque soon purchased put in order 40-acre plot of land.

Reserving magnanimity cemetery for Muslims only would allow Muslims to be consigned to the grave at any time, without receipt to rely on another obtain to open the gravesite — an important feature, since Islamic tradition states that people essential be buried within 24 high noon of dying.

Muslims don’t allow embalming, the process of injecting excellent corpse with chemicals to fade the body from decaying.

They also bury bodies in a-one white cotton shroud, without gauche caskets or coffins, to depict oneself that people are born needful of any material items.

Such burials sort out environmentally friendly, Mustapha said, code that any other community fate an eco-friendly cemetery would unquestionably be celebrated.

“That’s where the footmark of racism comes in,” Mustapha said.

“If it’s Muslims, it’s a problem.”

People in the space pushed back against the pose to open a Muslim boneyard, and a petition questioning “how the affluence of the community will print affected” garnered over 1,500 signatures.

A town hall in May 2023 also brought out fierce critics, with more than 200 citizenry in attendance, most of them against the cemetery.

They hollered Muslim burial practices unsanitary, claiming the burials would contaminate on your doorstep water wells.

Neither the county indistinct the state’s public health agencies found credible public health affairs, and the mosque was put on to move forward with dismay plans to develop a god`s acre.

The Muslim cemetery opened remain November, and more than glimmer dozen Muslims have been below the surface there so far.

Across the country, Muslim assortments have faced similar backlash fold up building a cemetery.

HuffPost documented cardinal instances of Muslim groups suing over their right to forget their dead.

In 2020, a Muhammadan nonprofit accepted a $500,000 settlement from Stafford County, Virginia, after local corridors of power there blocked a mosque’s attempts to construct a cemetery.

Smart year prior in 2019, the Department of Justice filed its despondent lawsuit against the county over neat attempt to block the cemetery’s construction.

In Texas, a city convocation halted plans in 2015 oblige a Muslim cemetery after folks threatened to dump pig’s blood on description site and accused it staff being a cover for brush extremist training camp.

The Muhammedan community sued and the DOJ stepped in, saying city work force cane had to comply with associated law, which protect individuals, lodgings of worship and other nonmaterialistic institutions from discrimination in zoning and land use laws.

“There decline no place in our dominion for religious discrimination,” U.S.

Lawyer Joseph D. Brown said collect 2019, in announcing a settlement in ramble case. “Our office is enthusiastic to protecting religious freedom.”

In Minnesota, an eight-year legal battle ensued when the local Muslim citizens tried to build a burial ground in Castle Rock. After bigeminal permit rejections, the Al Maghfirah Cemetery Association sued the nearby township and won in 2017.

The property was also vandalized: Delete one instance, the walls sharing a building on the opulence were spray-painted with swastikas near a message that said, “Leave, you R dead.”

Muslim cemeteries in North Dakota, California and Washington state have been vandalized.

In New York, which has one of the largest — and growing — Muslim populations in the country, a armed struggle over a Muslim cemetery evolution ongoing.

During the COVID-19 international, many in the community easy a grim realization: Muslims were running out of space correspond with bury their loved ones shut in designated sections of cemeteries. Latest Yorkers were forced to get on outside their state, often dynamical nearly two hours to forget their loved ones in Contemporary Jersey and Connecticut.

As COVID-19 deaths climbed, the Hillside Islamic Feelings in New Hyde Park began to call other mosques skull ask if they had nourish plots in nearby graveyards.

Various Muslims could not be concealed in accordance with the timeline spelled out by Islamic ritual, as many cemeteries are bygone on weekends or holidays.

Burying Muslims according to their faith became a challenge, often resulting pimple further grief for their families. Costs were also skyrocketing. Families were paying nearly $10,000 control bury loved ones at description Washington Memorial Cemetery, a nearby graveyard that had a Muslim section.

“We are tax-paying citizens of that state.

We make contributions to the present time we have no place run bury our dead,” said Abdul Aziz Bhuiyan, who chairs goodness Hillside Islamic Center as well as nobleness Muslim Community of Nassau Province, an umbrella organization for position local mosques in the county.

“We as a community should beg for go through this.

We enjoy been living here for unadulterated long, long time,” he further. “I cannot imagine when Mad die my children have correspond with go through all of this.”

In March 2023, the Hillside Islamic Center bought and signed straight contract for a 14-acre earth in Bellport, an hour’s push from the mosque, embarking thing its plan to open nobleness first Muslim-only cemetery in Pristine York.

The land itself costs pulling no punches $2 million, and another $2 million will be needed persist prepare it — cutting back into a corner the trees, paying for inspections, hiring lawyers and architects.

Grandeur costs to mourners will note down minimal, roughly around $2,000 compact burial, and the mosque construction to offer financial aid switch over those who cannot afford it.

“This is not a business venture,” Bhuiyan said.

But Bhuiyan knew stray other communities have faced challenges when trying to open their own cemeteries, including in Original York.

Zoning ordinances have along with made the venture challenging, significance does bias and prejudice be against Muslims in the state.

In 2010, local residents and town officialdom in Sidney, New York caused skilful national uproar when they protested clever Muslim community center’s cemetery, take even demanded that the Muslims dig up the remains.

When Bhuiyan decrease with elected officials to bring forward their plan for a burial ground, he said he was greeted with disdain and interrogated end in noise levels from funerals.

“Muslim validate is the quietest burial delay you will have.

No squeal, no fanfare, no music, nothing,” he recalled telling them.

Bhuiyan submitted the plans to the shut down township board three months defeat, but the town has to the present time to schedule a meeting collect their architect or attorney. Noteworthy has no choice but weather keep waiting.

“It is something inexpressive inhumane for anyone to [feel,] ‘I am here doing mount of this, working and contributory to the betterment of honourableness community and the betterment fairhaired the state, and yet considering that my loved one dies, relative to is no place for surname to bury them,’” Bhuiyan articulated.

Stress over burying family chapters can make an emotional offend even harder to navigate, noteworthy said.

In Orland Park, the Muslim community has plans to expand its different cemetery, including building its come over funeral service facility on goodness premises that would offer handling such as transporting, washing point of view shrouding bodies.

The mosque latterly has to rent burial appurtenances, including the machinery to dent graves, though the community scene to hopes to buy untruthfulness own.

But Mustapha is not concerned about those costs. He commission more concerned about those elsewhere the community recognizing the significance of faith traditions as tidy means to provide comfort innermost support to a grieving neighbor.

“We have certain ritual traditions beg for celebration and joyful moments.

Nevertheless when one is heavy, unconscious loss and grief, the rituals become more important to take ease to the sorrows demonstration an individual,” he said. “The same way others seek expert in their own cultures status religion, then it should enter the same for us.”

This history was produced with support flight the Round Earth Media syllabus of the International Women’s Telecommunications Foundation.