Posted on 10/11/2007 10:58:41 AM PDT by BGHater
A row has erupted over a plan to dig up a third of a million bodies from an historic east London cemetery to make way for a new Muslim burial site.
Tower Hamlets council in London is considering reopening the Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park in Mile End to answer a long-running campaign for a Muslim graveyard in the area.
The park, off Bow Common Lane, was deconsecrated as a Church of England cemetery by Parliament in 1966, after being deemed full with about 350,000 bodies buried there.
It is not yet clear what the Council proposes to do with the remains, if they are ultimately removed from the graves and a new burial site built in their place.
Council sources have said the plans are not yet at a stage where this has been properly considered.
But already opponents to the proposal are lining up. They include the environmentalist and broadcaster, who is leading calls for the park to be kept as a wildlife haven.
The botanist, who is patron of a charity that acts as the guardian of the graveyard, said he will 'pray that the wisdom of all faiths' prevails in the decision over the cemetery's future.
The other options are to find land outside Tower Hamlets or redevelop the Bow Common gas works.
The Labour-controlled council had asked officers to find ways of opening a Muslim-only cemetery - but lawyers warned them that would be illegal.
The authority then examined the possibility of a multi-faith site, clearing existing graves to create a new cemetery with an area set aside for Muslim burials.
But now outraged East Enders have declared "there is no way we'll allow them to dig up our ancestors".
They have bombarded their local paper, the East London Advertiser, with protests against the plan to exhume 350,000 graves dating back to 1841, including those of the children of Dr Barnardo.
Religious leaders and politicians have also reacted angrily.
Tower Hamlets Tory group leader Peter Golds said no new cemetery had been opened in an inner city area for decades.
Cllr Golds insisted: "Of course, there must be respect for the recent dead and for those who mourn, but this proposal will cause untold damage to community cohesion in a borough that seriously wants for tranquil open space."
Labour's Poplar and Canning Town MP Jim Fitzpatrick said: "The cemetery is a very special piece of green space and I would personally want to examine very carefully any proposal to change that."
The Rev Alan Green, chair of the Tower Hamlets Inter-Faith Forum and dean for the borough, said the former Church of England graveyard was not an 'appropriate' place for a new cemetery.
Rev Green said: "The Church supports the move to ensure suitable future provision for the burial and cremation needs for all local residents.
"However, we do not believe that the Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park is an appropriate location due to the emotional, practical and ecological issues of removing thousands of bodies and destroying an important wildlife centre.
"Therefore, we hope that we can work with the council and other faith groups to find a more suitable alternative."
Even Respect group leader Abjol Miah, who has been at the forefront of calls for a Muslim cemetery, opposed the blueprint.
Mr Miah said: "The Bow cemetery is an historic site and a nature reserve and therefore appears not to be an appropriate place.
"However, there is an urgent need for new cemetery facilities for Tower Hamlets residents.
"The lack of such facilities affects everyone, and is pressing because many, including most Muslims, prefer to bury their loved ones."
But defending the plan, Labour's environment spokesman in Tower Hamlets, Abdal Ullah, said: "To preserve the respect and dignity for everyone, I think most of the graves would have to be cleared out and we'd start afresh."
He said a corner of the cemetery would be reserved for Muslims who are buried in shrouds at a depth of 6ft and on their side facing Mecca.
With the fast-changing demographics of Tower Hamlets, the cemetery would be pre-dominantly Muslim.
Re-opening the cemetery would require an Act of Parliament - involving widespread public consultation and scrutiny but by law, any graves more than 75 years old can be removed.
Do that to a muslim graveyard and see how many new bodies would need to be buried. Not to mention the buildings that would spontaneously catch on fire.
I’m sure FReepers will be shocked to learn that Mile End is located in George Galloway’s constituency of Bethnal Green And Bow.
Are there no hog farms that can be condemned by Eminent Domain?
why don’t the muslims ship their bodies back to their home countries for burial!!!
Leave our history and culture alone!!
I can’t believe england would allow this. they adore their history.
Well kufir ARE second class citizens so this only makes sense.
This is getting funny.
At some point we are all going to be forced to admit that western civilization does not deserve to survive.
Just saturate the ground with bacon grease one dark night (afterall, it’s ‘biodegradable’) and then the Muslims probably wouldn’t want it...
This seems unnecessary. I’m sure Britain has its share of underused landfills. There’s plenty of room for dead muslimes.
Well don’t this just beat all??? This can’t be for real. Dig up the people already buried there so that they can bury muslimes only in that area? I think somebody is racially profiling.
Britain is done.
Comments at the site are worth reading. Maybe people are beginning to get a clue.
Pits dug w/ a backhoe were good enough for Saddammit. They should be good enough fot these ragtops!
Pits dug w/ a backhoe were good enough for Saddammit. They should be good enough fot these ragtops!
Pits dug w/ a backhoe were good enough for Saddammit. They should be good enough fot these ragtops!
Are these the muslim lands that the terrorists insiste the Westerners leave?
Will these too become “Islamic holy sites”?
Say what???
>> Abdal Ullah, said: “To preserve the respect and dignity for everyone, I think most of the graves would have to be cleared out and we’d start afresh.”
Only the muslims would view grave desecration as “preserving respect”.
Sorry for the dups.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.