Cemetery works spark off Eid row
AMUSLIM man has blasted Stockport council after it cordoned off an Islamic section of Mill Lane Cemetery during Eid.
Mohammed Mustafa, a solicitor, went to visit the plot last Thursday morning to see his departed father, who is buried in the graveyard.
But when he arrived, tree works being carried out by council staff members meant much of the section was closed off to the public.
“I am very upset,” said Mohammed, 66, .
“It is the holiest day in the Muslim calendar and we went to visit my father in our graveyard.
“To my horror and dismay they had sectioned off a sizeable part of the Muslim area.
“It is totally and utterly unacceptable when it is a multicultural graveyard.
“There has been a Muslim section in it for the last 10 years.
“With respect, the supervisor [of the site] should know the holy days of the Muslim calendar -would you like it if you went on Christmas Day to find JCBs out and work going on?”
Mill Lane Cemetery, opened in 1993, is operated by the council, who have since apologised for the error.
But, Mr Mustafa says that the situation was exacerbated when he complained to the site’s supervisor about the work.
He says the supervisor replied to his complaint by saying that it was a ‘normal working day’.
“That is totally unacceptable from someone who heads a multiracial, multicultural, and multi-religious graveyard,” he added.
“This Islamophobia is getting completely out of control.
“I will be speaking to the council and my local MP – it is not acceptable behaviour from people who claim to represent a multicultural community.
“It really isn’t on -- my family were involved with the Falklands War campaign. We need some respect.”
Mr Mustafa said his brother was a member of the design team which devised the mid-flight fuel systems for the Vulcan bomber. A spokesperson for Stockport council said: “We would like to apologise to those families who were not able to visit the graves of their loved ones in the Muslim burial area of Mill Lane Cemetery in Cheadle today, Thursday, due to maintenance works taking place.
“This week our teams have been carrying out improvements in this area of the cemetery, which has included trees being cut back to create further space for burial sites.
“Unfortunately staff had not realised that today, Thursday, marked Eid and continued with the works this morning.
“This was an oversight and was not meant to cause offence to visitors.
“A family, visiting the grave of a loved one, raised this with staff as they were concerned about the works taking place.
“All works were stopped immediately.
“Stockport council is committed to equality and diversity across the Borough and works closely with faith groups in managing the cemeteries and we apologise wholeheartedly for this error.”