Monday, October 18, 2010

Murfreesboro, Tennessee: County Backs Islamic Burial

From Creeping Sharia:

Tenn: county backs Islamic burial


Posted on October 18, 2010 by creeping

No mosque, no cemetery, just burying dead people, with a police escort. via County backs Islamic burial
dnj.com
The Daily News Journal.



County Planning Director Doug Demosi’s approval of a burial at the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro’s Veals Road site in May broke no local regulations, County Codes Director David Jones said Thursday.



“We have concluded that the burial conforms to the conditional use permit that was issued and is within the legal requirements of the 50-foot setback,” Jones said during an interview at his office Thursday afternoon.



The county investigated the burial recently after resident Elizabeth Coker filed a complaint. The burial is also a point of contention in a lawsuit against the county to stop additional permits from being issued to the Islamic Center, which wants to build a new mosque on the site south of Murfreesboro.



The final documented report about the burial investigation should be completed soon by the county’s engineering staff, Jones added.



Coker was not surprised to learn the county’s position.



“We don’t expect the county to find fault with itself,” Coker said. “That’s why we are taking this case to the district attorney.”



The congregation also wants to build a full cemetery for more burials, but will have to seek approval from the county’s Board of Zoning Appeals.



“We’re going to see what kind of backbone we have in the new commission we just elected,” Coker said. “The experienced commissioners on the planning board know that they were misled on this issue.”



None of the county commissioners spoke up after Coker made her three-minute presentation.



From a previous post no longer available at DNJ:



A group of about two dozen people requested an investigation in a letter and petition presented to Sheriff Truman Jones earlier this week.



“Who is it that’s buried here?” group spokesperson Laurie Cardoza-Moore said in a press conference Thursday. “Is it a child? Is it an adult? Is it male or female? There are environmental issues. Was there a casket used?”



The group is also concerned about the burial permit that was issued by the Rutherford County Planning Department.



Cardoza-Moore said the permit was approved for one person to be buried on the site, notarized and dated May 18. But, the group claims the body was buried before that permit was even approved.



“It’s our understanding the burial took place on the 17th,” said Cardoza-Moore.



Murfreesboro Police have said they gave a funeral escort to the site on May 19, the day after the permit was issued.



Thomas said the sheriff’s office will look into the matter.



“We will make sure that the death certificate was obtained and … that all the laws and rules were followed,” Thomas said

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