British Muslims challenge forced cremations in Sri Lanka

The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) is launching a legal challenge to the Sri Lankan government’s policy that all people who die of Covid must be cremated, even in violation of their religious beliefs. The insistence on cremation has caused great distress among the country’s Muslim minority. Islam stipulates that the dead must be buried. […]

The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) is launching a legal challenge to the Sri Lankan government’s policy that all people who die of Covid must be cremated, even in violation of their religious beliefs.

The insistence on cremation has caused great distress among the country’s Muslim minority. Islam stipulates that the dead must be buried. World Health Organization guidelines permit the burial or cremation of people who die of Covid, but the Sri Lankan government adopted a policy of mandatory cremations in March.

Earlier this month, a 20-day-old baby who died of Covid was cremated against the family’s wishes. The child’s father said he could not bear to witness the cremation.

A taskforce set up by the Muslim Council of Britain has written to the Sri Lankan high commissioner in the UK demanding an immediate reversal of the “forced cremation” policy and its impact on Muslim and Christian communities. The MCB said it would also pursue “the necessary legal action to end this violation”.

Tayab Ali, a partner at London law firm, Bindmans, said: “The forced cremations of Muslim bodies in Sri Lanka are a serious violation of the religious freedom of a minority group. It is a violation of international law to delay returning a family member’s body for burial in a timely way unless there is good reason to do so.

“In this case the Sri Lankan authorities have departed from the WHO’s recommendation for the safe management of a dead body during the coronavirus pandemic without any justification.”

Sri Lanka is majority Buddhist, with Muslims making up about 9% of the population and Christians about 7%. The country has had more than 25,000 cases of Covid-19 and 124 deaths, including more than 50 Muslims who were cremated.

(UK Guardian)