Municipality issues license to build kindergarten in cemetery
Municipality issues license to build kindergarten in cemetery
January 30, 2017 | 12:00 AM
Members of the fact-finding committee visit the site to take evidence.
January 30, 2017 | 12:00 AM
Last Updated: January 30, 2017 | 12:00 AM
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JEDDAH – Despite protests by the public and ignoring the directives of the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs, an investor has allegedly started building a kindergarten on the site of a graveyard after obtaining the necessary license from Jeddah Municipality.
People of the neighborhood made numerous attempts to stop the construction work in order to protect the sanctity of the dead who are buried in the graveyard in Al-Baghdadiyah district.
[caption id="attachment_116053" align="alignright"]
Skeletons found at the location of an old graveyard in Al-Baghdadiyah district of Jeddah.
[/caption] However, construction work continued despite a fatwa issued by the Kingdom's grand mufti about nine years ago calling for the preservation of the site. As the digging work progressed, the investor was surprised to find skeletons and remains of the dead buried at the location. When the matter was brought to the attention of the municipality, it allegedly responded by saying that the issue was "not of their concern." About nine years ago, the heirs of Muhammad Bin Sadiq Bin Hassan Al-Baghdadi sent a request to the Council of Senior Scholars and the Department of Scientific Research and Ifta seeking a religious edict calling for the preservation of the cemetery. They wanted the authorities to fence off the cemetery after removing all encroachments. As a result, the religious authorities sent a letter to the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs requesting it to address the issue and protect the dignity of the dead. Despite a directive from the minister of municipal and rural affairs and a ruling by the grand mufti to maintain the status quo, violators continued to invade the site. This prompted the heirs of Al-Baghdadi to file a lawsuit in the Jeddah General Court demanding it to order the municipality to preserve the graveyard and protect the sanctity of those buried there. The judge who heard the case ordered the formation of a six-member committee with representatives from the court, the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, the police and the municipality to determine the nature of the land. While the committee members inspected the site and recorded their observations, citizen Zamel Salamah presented them a certificate and a statement that stated his late father Jamil Bin Abdullah Salamah, who was the mayor of the neighborhood, used to prevent children from playing at the site because it was a graveyard and he didn't want the children to violate its sanctity.
Skeletons found at the location of an old graveyard in Al-Baghdadiyah district of Jeddah.[/caption] However, construction work continued despite a fatwa issued by the Kingdom's grand mufti about nine years ago calling for the preservation of the site. As the digging work progressed, the investor was surprised to find skeletons and remains of the dead buried at the location. When the matter was brought to the attention of the municipality, it allegedly responded by saying that the issue was "not of their concern." About nine years ago, the heirs of Muhammad Bin Sadiq Bin Hassan Al-Baghdadi sent a request to the Council of Senior Scholars and the Department of Scientific Research and Ifta seeking a religious edict calling for the preservation of the cemetery. They wanted the authorities to fence off the cemetery after removing all encroachments. As a result, the religious authorities sent a letter to the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs requesting it to address the issue and protect the dignity of the dead. Despite a directive from the minister of municipal and rural affairs and a ruling by the grand mufti to maintain the status quo, violators continued to invade the site. This prompted the heirs of Al-Baghdadi to file a lawsuit in the Jeddah General Court demanding it to order the municipality to preserve the graveyard and protect the sanctity of those buried there. The judge who heard the case ordered the formation of a six-member committee with representatives from the court, the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, the police and the municipality to determine the nature of the land. While the committee members inspected the site and recorded their observations, citizen Zamel Salamah presented them a certificate and a statement that stated his late father Jamil Bin Abdullah Salamah, who was the mayor of the neighborhood, used to prevent children from playing at the site because it was a graveyard and he didn't want the children to violate its sanctity.
