Islamic cemetery plans canceled
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on October 16, 2015 1:46 PM
A request by the Islamic Center of Goldsboro Inc. for a rezoning that would allow the center to build a cemetery on its property at 506 Fedelon Trail is expected to be denied by the Goldsboro City Council at Monday night's meeting.
But this decision is not being made at the behest of the council or the city planning commission.
On Oct. 5, Dr. Muhammad Bhatti filed a letter on behalf of the Islamic Center of Goldsboro asking that the request to build the cemetery be withdrawn due to "unavoidable circumstances."
When reached by phone Thursday afternoon, Bhatti said he could not elaborate on all of the circumstances surrounding the decision, but that the center felt it would be best to wait until a later date.
"We are busy at the center with more important things that we need to take care of," Bhatti said. "We felt it would be better to wait and bring it back at another time when we were less busy."
Bhatti did not say when the request might be brought back in front of the council.
A public hearing was held on building the cemetery at the second City Council meeting in July, when residents who live on Fedelon Trail spoke in opposition of the proposal and Bhatti and other members of the Muslim community in Goldsboro also spoke in an attempt to clear up any confusion.
Those who opposed the measure claimed embalming fluid would seep out and contaminate the groundwater.
But Muslims do not use embalming fluid when burying a body. Bodies are also wrapped in linen cloth and are not placed inside caskets.
Bhatti reiterated this fact when contacted for comment about withdrawing the request, and multiple Muslims who spoke at July's public hearing said the same thing.
Additionally, Bhatti said, the site that was proposed for the cemetery to be built on is at a lower elevation than the surrounding properties, meaning it would be impossible for any alleged contaminants to travel in a manner that would affect the groundwater of the community near the Islamic Center of Goldsboro.
"I think the allegations were baseless," Bhatti said. "I don't think they carried any weight."
The planning commission initially recommended approving the rezoning request to allow the cemetery to be built, but the council deferred voting on the matter at its first meeting in September.
In North Carolina, there are no laws or regulations requiring embalming, and no law requires a casket or vault for burial unless individual cemeteries have container rules.
No North Carolina laws prohibit burials on private property unless there are local governmental restrictions, and environmental health regulations would apply to the proposed cemetery.
Therefore, there would be no legal grounds on which to deny a request by the Islamic Center to build a cemetery on its own property.
The planning commission also considered cemetery regulations in Kinston, Winston-Salem and Raleigh to provide a comparison of Goldsboro to similar communities.
In Kinston, private cemeteries are allowed as an accessory to a church by right in all zoning districts except industrial.
In Winston-Salem, private cemeteries as an accessory to a church are allowed in all zoning districts, including industrial.
In Raleigh, cemeteries are allowed in all zoning districts, but must take into account present and future improvement plans and must be more than 40 feet away from any street right-of-way, unless the right-of-way is not required for future city improvements.
All of these factors were considered in the initial recommendation to approve the request, and can be referred to again in the future when the request is brought before the council.