The local Muslim population is trying to figure out the answer to a potential future problem as more of the community settles into Chatham-Kent - where they will bury their dead.
Muslim residents are asking the Chatham-Kent council to consider designating a specific area of a cemetery exclusively for the burial of their members.
"The Muslim faith requires that members abide by traditional full burial services in a cemetery," a report to council said. "This includes interments of members in their religious cemetery or within a segregated section of a non-affiliated cemetery."
Chatham-Kent currently operates six active cemeteries where interment rights can be purchased by the public. However, four of them do not have any segregated sections.
Municipal staff suggested a few options at a previous meeting, but they were not preferred by the local Muslim community.
Those options included the community purchasing a group of plots within the same area of a cemetery and allocating interment rights, an informal non-segregated area of a cemetery that would not be held exclusive to the Muslim community, or offering some municipal support to help identify some land for a private cemetery.
"The local community prefers the municipality establish a segregated and dedicated area of a Chatham-Kent cemetery for members of Muslim faith and continue to administrate the sale of interment rights," read the report.
According to the 2021 census, the Muslim community has over 800 members living in Chatham-Kent and is one of the fastest-growing populations in Ontario.
In the past year, there have been three deaths within the community and representatives expect that number to increase as the Muslim population continues to flourish in the region.
"Members of the Muslim community residing in surrounding areas have typically relied on private sector or religious-owned cemeteries to provide interment services in segregated areas," read the report. "These operators have established cemeteries that offer graves specifically to people of the Muslim faith."
The options will be up for council discussion at its meeting on Monday night.
