Cemetery is sacred

THE Cape SA Jewish Board of Deputies supports the Tanu Baru Trust in their desire to preserve the integrity of its sacred burial ground, the first officially recognised Muslim cemetery in South Africa, dating to 1837.

Like the Muslim community, Jews regard the care of cemeteries as an essential religious and social responsibility as shown in the Talmudic teaching “gravestones are fairer than royal palaces”.

It would be sacrilegious if through development part of this burial ground, a holy place containing gravestones, marking the final resting places of many of the earliest Muslim scholars and imams, should be uprooted and replaced with an upmarket skyscraper.

The Tanu Baru should become a national heritage site and all similar religious sites should be treated with respect and dignity.