Backward Muslims protest denial of burial

Submitted by rkm on Mon, 06/30/2008 - 22:37.

A section of Muslims in Bihar are up in arms
against the more affluent and powerful section of Muslims for denying
them entry into graveyards on the grounds of lower caste status.

In
the last one-year, a few cases have surfaced where the backward or
lower caste Muslims faced trouble over easy entry for burial in
graveyards and in two or three cases they were not allowed to bury.
They finally resorted to burying the body outside the graveyard.

The
Pasmanda Muslim Mahaz and All India United Muslim Morcha, both based in
Bihar and being the socio-political front of backward Muslims, have
threatened to launch a movement against the powerful upper caste Muslim
elite on this issue.

Mahaz president
Ali Anwar has expressed deep concern over the denial burial rights at
different graveyards in the name of cast in more than six districts in
Bihar.

AIUMM president Dr M Ajaj Ali,
who had championed the cause of backward Muslims in Bihar in the 90s
and whom he termed as 'Dalit Muslims', first raised the issue about the
denying of burial rights.

He that
disallowing of a particular Muslim burial in a graveyard on the grounds
of caste is against the basic tenants of Islam. "Where is the caste
system in Islam, there is no basis of caste in Islam, but it is being
practiced and creating trouble in social harmony," he said.

Anwar claimed that some people have been denied access to a graveyard despite having vasiyatnama [validity for entry]
in Jahanabad district a few months ago. "Some powerful people
disallowed burial of Salim Ansari in the graveyard on the ground of
caste," he said.

He has decided to stage a dharna [protest],
along with a team of his Mahaz. "We have recorded instances in which
people belonging to lower Muslim caste have been stopped from burying
their dead," he said.

Both leaders in
separate statements have urged the All India Muslim Personal Law Board
to intervene into the matter before it is too late. "I would like to
appeal to Board to leave the political issues in the hands of
politicians and instead take religious issues related with Muslim
community like this to resolve it," Ali said.

Though
the number of such cases of denying entry for burial in graveyard is
still rare, the issue raised by leaders of backward Muslims has added a
new twist to the entire issue.

Usually,
there is a common graveyard for all Muslim in a Muslim village or
mohalla where all of them have being burying their dead for ages. But
there still are a few villages where the backward Muslims are forced to
create a separate graveyard for them.

In
Bihar, backward Muslim leaders have demanded job quotas for backward
Muslims claiming they are equal to Hindu backward community.

They
claim that over 75 percent of the Muslim community comprising backward
Muslims, including the Ansari, Kunjra, Churihara, Dhobi and Halalkhor.