The Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) has approved the small allotment of 144 plots allocated for Islamic burial at the Rusthof Cemetery.
At an official opening ceremony on Monday 28 November representatives from the council visited the site to check Qibla for the graves (that is, their facing the direction of the Kaaba at the sacred mosque in Mecca, an orientation widely used by Muslims for their religious rites and rituals, including prayer).
Also there were representatives from the Gordon’s Bay Islamic Society, Boland Islamic Council, Strand Muslim Council, the Nurul Islam Mosque and Majlisush Shura Al-Islami.
The new development was welcomed as it will alleviate pressure on many residents looking for affordable public cemetery options to bury their loved ones in a manner that respects their religious practices. In the Helderberg area there are no other cemeteries that accommodate Muslim burials, except for the privately owned Strand Muslim Cemetery, which has reached full capacity and offers only the re-opening of family graves for further burials.
According to a statement from the Strand Moslem Council the site is available to all Muslims in the Helderberg area.
“A Muslim burial committee from the various jamaats will be formed to facilitate this site and engage with the City of Cape Town on behalf of the Muslims of the area,” it said.
Cassim Peer, chairman of the Gordon’s Bay Islamic Society (GBIS), it welcomes the allocation of burial space as the lack of this facility was a cause of great concern to our community.
“We wish to thank the Muslim Judicial Council, especially Sheikh Riaad Fataar and Sheik Abdul Khaliq Ali, for their persistent efforts in securing the space for the Muslims of Gordon’s Bay,” he said. “We also wish to thank the City of Cape Town [CoCT], especially Susan Brice and her team, for responding to our appeal on an urgent basis.”
Before the Rusthof allotment families would have to commute to Welmoed or Wallacedene cemeteries, the nearest City ones with available allotments for Muslim burials. The new development has brought some relief to those living in Gordon’s Bay and Strand, for they can now bury their loved ones closer to home.
Those attending the opening ceremony received information packs with reading materials with instructions on how to book burial plots in compliance with the City’s booking system. The CoCT is legally required to have a list of mandatory documents on hand before any burial can take place.
Understanding the unique requirements for Muslim burial practices, booking co-ordinators have been assigned to assist with managing the process. For bookings at Rusthof Cemetery, the MJC along with the relevant Muslim burial societies, will nominate a co-ordinator.
A legally binding service agreement is also in place between the City and the MJC, which was entered into in 2015. It recognises that Muslims have select requirements for burial for religious reasons, and allows for them to exercise their religious right to bury as soon as possible after death.
As part of the day’s activities, the first grave was mechanically dug. The soil at Rusthof cemetery is particularly rich in clay, making the surface very hard. The impact on operations is that it is extremely difficult to prepare graves quickly, within a short period of time.
‘We will have to monitor the burial demand and potentially prepare two to three graves in advance per day. Also, digging may take place in a grave plot adjacent to an occupied one to ensure that the space afforded is filled systematically. If the need for more graves to be prepared increases, the City can provide for this, but it will be important to allow for some lead-time to make arrangements for staff to be at the premises with the necessary skills and equipment. Under no circumstances would a burial be able to take place without a facility staff member being present,’ said the Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services and Health, Councillor Patricia Van der Ross.
The Recreation and Parks Department is exploring the possibility of extending Rusthof and Sir Lowry’s Pass cemeteries. This require extensive planning and authorisation in the long term as inputs are required from various practitioners including environmentalists, land use authorities, landscapers and bio-diversity experts.
