Farmersville, TX: Misconceptions about Muslim Burial

Last updated on: July 22, 2015 at 11:09 am by Muslims Writers Guild of America

Farmersville, TX: Misconceptions about Muslim Burial 2015-07-22T11:09:17-05:00 Muslims Writers Guild of America

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Saima Sheikh

“Take and dump pigs’ blood and [plant] pigs’ heads on a post,” he said sagely, “and they won’t buy the land.” “It’s gonna kill Farmersville,” one man warned darkly. “They’re at war with us,” thundered another, reports Dallas Morning News and “another lady explained, is how “they” will use their own dead to poison the water supply: “Their bodies are generally above the water,” she explained, as if lecturing kids in science class. “We get rain, it’s going to be in our drinking system.”According to BBC, “All they do is wrap them in a sheet, throw them in the grave and bury them,” Troy Gosnell told the news channel.

Who are these people discussing? They are talking about Muslims who want to purchase a land in the city of Farmersville, Texas for a cemetery. Farmersville, Texas is about 50 miles north of Dallas. It is a small town with about 4000 people. It has a Buddhist center and a Mormon Church but it seems even the thought of a Muslim cemetery is scaring the residents. Whoa! This is ignorance at its best. This proves that many Americans don’t know anything about Islam or Muslims. The only information they rely on is the media which has been known to relay misinformation about Muslims.

There are more than 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide and they are not at war with America or any other nation! ISIS or ISIL doesn’t represent Islam. They are an extremist and terrorist organization. ISIS has killed more Muslims in the past few years than any other minorities. The actions of ISIS are against the basic tenet of Islam. Islam forbids the killing of the innocent. The Holy Quran says, “whosoever killed a person — unless it be for killing a person or for creating disorder in the land — it shall be as if he had killed all mankind” (5:33).

It is important that non-Muslims learn about Islam and Muslims so they can avoid further misconceptions. We do not wrap the body in sheets and throw them in the ground as someone mentioned in the above article. Muslims bury their dead in a sealed coffin so don’t worry; there will be no contamination of the water system either. According to Islamic burial guidelines, bodies are washed with lukewarm water. After bathing and wrapping the body in a shroud, the body is placed in a coffin. When the burial ceremony is complete, a brief silent congregational prayer with raised hands is made for the forgiveness of the deceased. Islam instructs that one should arrange the burial with utmost simplicity.

We live in a diverse nation and it’s important for us to learn about different faiths and cultures so we can avoid making inaccurate statements about each other. I would like to invite the people of Farmersville and others in the area to visit Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Mosque in Allen so we can engage in interfaith dialogue and remove any misconceptions.

Follow Saima on twitter at @SaimaGSheikh

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