In French cemeteries, the growing lack of Muslim plots

It is 8:30 a.m. in a funeral home in the suburbs of Paris when Awa (1) and Fahima (1) begin the Muslim ritual washing. After washing the body of the deceased, Awa coats her forehead, elbows, knees and hands with perfume before wrapping her body in a shroud. The rest takes place in the Muslim section of the nearest cemetery. The grave faces Mecca, like all the others in this Muslim corner of the cemetery, according to the rite.

“The square is fine here, there is still room,” “We are all dead,” says Mario Zerifi, a Muslim funeral director, pointing to the graves, most of which have no headstones and are covered with colorful flowers or grass. “Most city halls are really making an effort to create squares, he assuresbut others block.”

In fact, the subject is increasingly being raised in France. While the first generation of Muslim immigrants, particularly from Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, tended to be buried “in the country”, “the trend is reversing” for around twenty years, explains Nada Afiouni, lecturer at the University of Le Havre. “The majority choice remains the repatriation of the body, but we are seeing an increasing demand for burials in France.”

Generations of Muslims born in France can no longer imagine having their deceased parents far from them. Mechanically, the demand for the creation or enlargement of Muslim plots in French cemeteries is becoming more pressing for mayors. Often well-intentioned, they are faced with a lack of space and are asking that communities adapt.

Orient the grave towards Mecca

Recognized by the public authorities, this problem had been raised by the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin who, on February 26, at the annual session of the Forum of Islam of France, had noted that“Today, the Muslims of France were born in France, grew up in France (…). But they have difficulty being buried in France, in their homeland, due to a lack of space in the religious squares. He had pledged that by 1^er July, “access to a burial place is no longer a subject for our compatriots, whatever their religion and respecting their request.”

Because the imperative, for many Muslims, is the orientation of the tomb towards Mecca. The demand, on the rise, was accelerated during Covid, when the repatriation of bodies became very difficult. “In Bouches-du-Rhône, the situation was catastrophic, remembers Djamel Zekri, president of the departmental council of the Muslim faith. There was no more space in the cemeteries, people saw their loved ones being buried in mass graves, without washing, without prayer, without orientation towards Mecca.

Beyond this extreme situation, this request is a natural consequence of the establishment of Muslims in France: “When we try to integrate, we have to make it easier for ourselves, insists Salah Merabti, president of the Islamic community of Indre-et-Loire. It is where we bury our loved ones that we integrate.”

Towards family burials?

Although the creation of Muslim squares in cemeteries is the decision of the mayor, it is encouraged by the public authorities via a circular of February 2008 which provides: “that it is desirable, for the sake of the integration of families from immigrant backgrounds, to encourage the burial of their loved ones on French territory.” She encourages mayors to create religious squares.

In general, the negotiations are rather peaceful. This year in Marseille, “Our requests were echoed by the mayorrejoices Djamel Zekri, since the municipal council deliberation in June voted a budget of 1.6 million euros dedicated to the enlargement of four cemeteries in the city”this not only concerning denominational squares.

In cities where squares have been created, however, the lack of space is only a shift. In Argenteuil, in Val-d’Oise, the mayor granted the request to create a square in 2005. “But we are faced with a galloping demand for square meters,” explains the mayor, Georges Mothron, who estimates the number of burials in the Muslim square between 60 and 80 per year since 2020.

So ten years ago, the mayor asked Muslim leaders to adapt by considering family burials.. “The commitment has been made, but it is not the norm.”

And in cities where mayors do not create a religious square, people sometimes find themselves without the possibility of burying their loved ones according to their rite. “What is missing is a legal text, says Nada Afiouni. For now, the circular encourages mayors to install them, but there is no legal obligation.

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Religion in Cemeteries

Cemeteries are civil public places, where any mark of recognition of different faiths is prohibited in common areas. Only graves may display religious symbols.

The mayor, however, has the option of determining the location assigned to each grave. and can therefore bring together people of the same faith. However, the confessional space must not be isolated from other parts of the cemetery by a physical separation.

By way of derogation from common law, There are still a few private Jewish or Protestant denominational cemeteries, a remnant of the past.