granted permission to have a plot of land in Ferry Reach used as a graveyard.

Mr. Basim Muwwakkil has recently replaced Ameer Shakir as Imam or elected head of the local Muslims, centred at the Mohammad Masjid centre on Cedar Avenue.

Mr. Muwwakkil spoke to The Royal Gazette about the decision by the Development and Applications Board (DAB) to approve the land as burial site and said he was: "definitely happy to hear it'', and said they would start preparing to use the site.

However, Mr. Muwwakkil had only recently returned to the Island and said that he was not fully appraised of the developments.

For many years the Muslim community have struggled to bring their religious beliefs and their right to practise their faith to a level of public acceptance on the Island.

At the centre of past controversies surrounding the issue, is the manner in which the Muslims carry out their ritual burial rites.

The custom entails washing the body of the deceased three times and then shrouding the body before it is interned without a casket.

This custom goes back more than a thousand years and the Jewish religion has very similar burial rites.

Previously, those of the Muslim faith had to be buried in their family plots, or in special plots in Church graveyards set aside for different faiths.

The dream of having their own burial site has been many years in the pipeline and Mr. Muwwakkil said that many past Government and opposition Ministers had promised to accommodate their needs.

Mr. Muwwakkil said at one point they were given a site in Dockyard that used to be a dump. One person was buried there but its use as a burial ground ceased shortly afterwards and the Muslims have been searching for a suitable site ever since.

Mr. Muwwakkil was unsure of exactly how many Muslims were in Bermuda but said he knew of 30 families and said the total number including foreign workers could be over 300.

CHURCH CHU