Muslim Council Urges French Mayors to Address COVID-19 Burial Crisis

"The number of victims of the coronavirus pandemic continues to increase, leaving many families in the pain of mourning and the impossibility of burying their deceased in accordance with their rites. Today, we are facing a serious crisis that calls for urgent intervention by the public authorities," the CFCM warns in a statement.

The council recalls that on March 23, 2020, during a video conference, it had asked President Emmanuel Macron to create new burial spaces. According to the council, this approach was unanimously supported by the representatives of the other faiths in France. But to no avail. Similarly, the CFCM claims to have alerted the Prime Minister, Edouard Philippe, the Minister of the Interior, Christophe Castaner, the President of the Senate, Gérard Larcher and the President of the Association of Mayors of France, François Baroin, about the worsening of the situation. Still the status quo.

The council states that each time a difficulty has been reported to it, it has systematically contacted the mayor of the municipality concerned to find solutions. "However, it must be noted that some of these solutions are slow to come, plunging the families into anguish, worry and incomprehension," it laments. Based on these findings, it solemnly calls on the mayors of France to take their responsibilities in the face of the suffering and pain of these families who have lost a loved one and who are having great difficulty burying their deceased.

Furthermore, the CFCM urgently calls on the bereaved families, who are having difficulty finding burial places for their deceased, as well as local associations, funeral homes and chaplains, to immediately contact the CRCM of their regions as well as the CFCM via its platform. "In these difficult times, let us not add to the pain of the families, the suffering of not being able to honor their dead," the council concludes.