Jawatte Jumma Mosque & Muslim Burial Grounds

On the 31^st of May 1999, the then Burial Ground Committee submitted a comprehensive Burial Plan to the Board of Trustees for their evaluation and consideration. The Burial Plan was developed in consultation with Members of the Boards of Trustees  of the Masjidhul Jamiah, Masjidhul Akbar Jumma Mosque, Wekande Jumma Mosque and the Masjidhul Quadhir Hanafi Jummah Mosque  – all of which are located at Kompanyaweediya. At the next Monthly Meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Jawatte Jumma Mosque held on 27^th June 1999, the  Burial Plan was unanimously adopted without any amendments.

The details of the Burial Plan are given below

Background

The current practice adopted at the Jawatte Muslim Burial Grounds regarding the choice of location of burial plots – which in fact has been the practice since the inception – can at best be described as haphazard.  Certain areas of the Burial Grounds are perceived as being ‘family sections’ by virtue of the fact that members of a specific family may have been buried in or around that location over a long period of time.  In the case of most other persons,  the choice of location of the burial plot is left entirely to the Grave Digger.

With the growth in the numbers of burials,  the existing situation is fraught with the possibility of unethical practices creeping into the current, ambiguous system of allocating grave sites.   For example, certain graves may be re-used before a reasonable period of time (usually at least 5 years) has lapsed.  Unnecessary pressure (monetary or otherwise) can also be brought to bear on the Grave Digger to influence his decision regarding the choice of grave-site.

Clearly, the moment is opportune for the formulation of a scheme whereby the decision as to where the next janazah will be buried should b pre-determined and will therefore be free of ‘external’ influences.

A vital factor that needs to be taken cognizance of is that there are very large tracts of land in the Burial Grounds which have as yet not been used for the purpose of the burials.   This naturally has invited the attention of persons residing n the vicinity,  especially the children, who use the area as a playing field or a place to congregate in the evenings.   The possibility also exists that unutilized sections of the Burial Grounds could well be taken over by the State to accommodate the overflow from the neighbouring General Cemetery.

Objective of the Burial Plan

With these sobering thoughts in mind,  the Burial Ground Committee of the Jawatte Jumma Mosque is of the opinion that a Burial Plan be formulated which would

[1]     Utilize ALL sections of the entire area of land, excepting that on which the Mosque stands, in a SYSTEMATIC manner ;

[2]    Pre-determine the location of grave sites in a SYSTEMATIC manner

[3]    Thereby remove the onus of deciding on the locations of graves from an individual or group of individuals

Current Rate of Burials

According to records maintained by the Jawatte Jumma Mosque, the numbers of burials during 1997 and 1998 were 218 and 198 respectively. This yields an average of about 18 burials per month.   The records further reveal that approximately two-thirds of all burials each year are from the Slave Island area.

Annual Requirement of Space

On the assumption that the area of 32 square feet (8‘ x 4’) is required for each grave,  it is estimated that during an average year a total of 6912 square feet (18 x 12 x 32) will be required.  This is approximately 28 perches of land per annum.

Re-Use of Burial Plots

It is believed that the total extent of land at the Burial Ground is around 3 acres.  This being the case,  at the rate of 28 perches a year,  it will take over 15 years for the entire area to be utilized once.

This would suggest that a burial plot, once used,  need not be disturbed for at least 15 years.

The Burial Plan

It is proposed that the selection of plots for all future burials at the Jawatte Jumma Burial Grounds be in accordance with the following conditions.

6.1          Those sections of the Burial Grounds that have been used during the past 10 years shall be identified by the Burial Ground Committee and a ban shall be imposed on all further burials in such sections until such time as the remaining areas have been fully utilized.

6.2          The unutilized sections of the Burial Grounds shall be divided into Zones – each of which should accommodate a minimum of 20 graves.

6.3          The 20 Burial Plots in the Zone that is scheduled to be used next shall be pegged out beforehand.  These 20 plots could either be in a single row or in multiple rows depending on the shape of the land available.

6.4          A suitable Zone as near as possible to the Western Wall of the Grounds will be selected as the starting point.   Thereafter,  successive Zones will be selected in the direction of the Southern Boundary of the Grounds.   The method of subsequent selection will be as depicted in Diagram A.

6.5          Upon receiving a request for a burial plot,  the next available plot in the Zone currently in use will be allocated to the requestee.

6.6          A site plan of the Burial Ground depicting the Zone currently in use shall be displayed prominently at the Jawatte Jumma Mosque and also at each of the four Mosques at Slave Island.   This will contribute enormously towards publicizing the Burial Plan and it’s acceptance by members of the Public.

The implementation of the Burial Plan commenced at a very slow pace – mainly due to the fact that the the Jamaath had to be made aware of the need for such a Plan and the need on their part to change some  key past practices such as the request for burying family members in close proximity to each other even after considerable periods of time have elapsed.

However, during the past few years, the speed of implementation has increased considerably and at the time of writing this Post, there is now a policy of adhering strictly to the terms of the Burial Plan when identifying plots for burials.