Okaz/Saudi Gazette

TAIF — The Saudi Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing has directed a number of its mayoralties to establish cemeteries for non-Muslims in their regions.

This is to accelerate the completion of the burial procedures of those dead among the non-Muslims, instead of transferring their bodies to a limited number of cemeteries, such as those located in the governorate of Jeddah, as was the case in the past. According to informed sources, the ministry has set specifications for these cemeteries, unlike the specifications for the Muslim cemeteries.

On its part, the Taif Mayoralty announced that it's Honoring the Dead Department held a meeting with senior specialists from the Ministry of Health to discuss issues related to the burial of the deceased, and the mechanism to develop it in a way providing comfort for the families of the dead, as part of plans to enhance joint cooperation between the two sectors.

The mayoralty is making efforts to prepare the graves for the deceased among the non-Muslims, as well as to enable the deceased’s relatives to obtain instant burial certificates through its electronic services in an easier and simpler way, so as to avoid the delay in the issuance of death certificates, normally carried out by the hospitals under the Ministry of Health.

The mayoralty is working to furnish the cemeteries on a daily basis so as to facilitate the smooth conduct of the burial rites, apart from raising the wall of a number of cemeteries and establishing new walls with all its services, including digging, washing areas for the dead, and fulfilling shroud requirements. This is also in addition to cleaning the cemeteries with the removal of trees, and numbering graves to make it easier for the people of the deceased to know the locations of the graves of their dead kin when visiting cemeteries later.