Hesse: More demand for Muslim burials

In the past, deceased Muslims were often taken home for burial.

Hesse: More demand for Muslim burials

In the past, deceased Muslims were often taken home for burial. In the meantime, however, many people of Islamic faith see Germany as their home. This is also visible in the cemeteries.

Wiesbaden (dpa/lhe) - According to estimates by municipalities and Islamic associations, the demand for Muslim burials in Hesse will increase. Said Barkan, chairman of the Hessian regional association of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany (ZDM), explained that the previous requirement in relation to the proportion of Muslims in the total population of eleven percent could still be expanded. "Nevertheless, the demand is increasing, also because the group of refugee Muslims has been added to the deceased."

For example, the first generation of Turkish guest workers of the Muslim faith were mostly buried in their homeland, Barkan explained. The association expects a significant increase in the demand for burials that correspond to the Islamic faith in the coming years with the increased deaths of the second and third generation. "These generations of Hessian Muslims see Hessen as their home and their children and relatives also want to keep the deceased close to them."

The demand can still be met, Barkan explained. "However, this will also depend on whether the Cemetery and Burial Act is further amended." In Hesse, burial in a shroud is Islam-compliant for religious reasons. "But there are still problem areas to be solved," said Barkan, naming, among other things, the eternal rest period fundamentally anchored in Islam.

In the future, Muslims should be allowed to manage cemeteries in cooperation with the state, but on their own responsibility, said Barkan. This also applies to the Jewish cemeteries in Hesse, he argued. For this, however, the religious communities such as the ZDM would have to be recognized as a corporation under public law.

Many Hessian municipalities offer Muslim burials, and in many places the cemetery areas have already been expanded or are to be expanded, according to a dpa survey.

Muslim burials have been possible in Gießen since the early 1990s. "We have already expanded twice. Another expansion area for the following years has already been reserved," said a spokeswoman for the city. The demand has been stable for years, the deceased from the city of Giessen, but also from the district and the neighboring region, are buried.

"We can - except for washing - meet all the requirements, including the coffin-free burial in a cloth," explained the spokeswoman. The possibility of eternal rest is guaranteed by the fact that all Muslim graves are optional graves that can be extended indefinitely. "We are in good contact with the Islamic communities in Giessen and have the impression that they are satisfied with what we have to offer," she explained.

The Green Spaces Office in Frankfurt reported that Muslim residents have had the option of burial according to the Islamic rite since 1961. "This summer, the offer was expanded with the new burial ground in Höchst Cemetery." According to the office, the grave fields are oriented to the south-southeast in such a way that all the deceased are lying on their right side facing Mecca.

According to the information, a total of 5,124 burials took place in the 36 cemeteries in Frankfurt in 2021 - including 218 Muslim burials. In the cemetery regulations, there is no explicit right to rest, the parks office explained. "However, the relatives always have the opportunity to extend the right of use in the case of optional grave sites."

In Kassel, there has been a Muslim burial ground in the west cemetery since the 1980s, as Eckhart Göritz, the head of the cemetery administration, said. While there was about one funeral per year at the beginning, there is now a steady increase. During the corona pandemic, it was noticeable that transfers to the home countries were often no longer possible. Also, many Muslims are no longer as familiar with their homeland as previous generations, said Göritz.

Wiesbaden has offered a Muslim burial ground in the southern cemetery since 1987, the state capital said. In the event of death, individual religious regulations and commandments would be taken into account. "The planning and alignment of the graves took place in coordination with the Office for Immigration and Integration and the representatives of various Muslim communities."

Since November 2014, coffinless burial has also been possible in all cemeteries in Wiesbaden, the city administration explained. "While there was still no alternative for migrant families to bury their deceased relatives at home a few years ago, more and more families are now accepting the offer of a Muslim burial in Germany," explained a spokesman.

"The religious and ritual requirements for Muslim burials can be largely complied with in Wiesbaden," he explained. However, some requirements, such as burial within the first 24 hours after death, are not possible in Germany because the burial laws allow burial no earlier than 48 hours after death.

Other requirements, such as the washing of the dead, burial without a coffin in a shroud or the orientation of the corpse towards Mecca would be fulfilled. "The perpetual right of rest can be approximately fulfilled in that in the case of ground election graves that have a useful life of 30 years, this can then be extended by the beneficiaries," explained the spokesman.