In Japan, plan for dedicated Muslim cemetery in Hiji faces opposition from locals
- There are just seven Muslim burial sites in the country, meaning bereaved families must travel far from their homes and at great cost
- Hiji residents’ claims that burials will contaminate the soil and water have been dismissed by Muslim leaders in Japan, where cremation is more common
Local residents claim that the Muslim tradition of burying a body, as opposed to cremation, poses a threat to the health of local people as contaminants will leech into the soil as well as local water sources used for crop irrigation and drinking – a stance local Muslim leaders say makes absolutely no sense.
“We built our mosque in Beppu about 10 years ago, and as soon as that was completed we started on our next project, finding a place where Muslims can be buried according to our customs,” said Khan Muhammad Tahir Abbas, head of the Beppu Muslim Association. Beppu is about 13km away from Hiji, in Oita prefecture on Kyushu.
“We went to the Beppu city office many, many times to ask what we needed to do and they never refused our request to have a graveyard, but they never accepted us either,” he said. “They just didn’t do anything.”
Frustrated at the failure of officials in Beppu to address their concerns, the Muslim association purchased an 8,000 square metre plot of land in the neighbouring town of Hiji with the intention of establishing a dedicated cemetery with up to 120 graves, said 53-year-old Abbas, who is originally from Lahore in Pakistan but has lived in Japan since 2001 and is a professor of technology at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University.