Cape Town - With its debt of more than R14 million now cleared, the Mowbray Muslim Cemetery has added new facilities to facilitate a more dignified burial and ease for bereaved families.
Traditionally, the bodies of Muslim deceased are washed prior to burial according to customary practices at the family home.
The Mowbray Muslim Cemetery, acknowledging that many homes are not conducive for this process, and has unveiled its “Ghusl Khana” on the premises, for this purpose.
On Thursday, the Mowbray Muslim Cemetery unveiled its Ghusl, Salaah and Waiting Room facilities.
Moslem Cemetery Board chairperson Faizal Sayed said: “During the Covid-19 period, you were not allowed to take the body home and wash it. So there were one or two facilities in Cape Town only and they were under tremendous pressure.”
“Here’s a facility that is custom-made, goes very fast and then you can leave again with the deceased and come back.
“Certain people, in the conditions that they live in, don’t have the facilities at home to handle bodies. We in our time had to fetch people that were stuck on the fifth and fourth floor, had to get down the staircase, it’s very difficult, so we said, ’Let's try this’.”
Sayed said the cemetery does not get involved in the washing of the bodies. Construction commenced in October 2021 with the upgrades at a cost of R350 000.
Prior to taking over as chairperson, Sayed said the cemetery was in debt of around R14.1 million a year and a half ago, which is now cleared.
Muslim Judicial Council second-deputy president Shaykh Riad Fataar has called for a Trust to be established to assist in the burials of the poor.
City cemetery co-ordinator, Susan Brice said: “I’m extremely impressed and proud of this particular cemetery which, obviously under new management, has made an incredible impact.”