n the small town of Sidney, New York, officials are attempting to force a Muslim group to remove a tiny graveyard on private property. The town says the burial site is illegal and against zoning regulations, and that anti-Muslim prejudice played no role in their decision. They want the two bodies buried there to be exhumed and moved to another location.
A spokesman for Osmanli Naksibendi Hakkani, the Sufi religious order responsible for the cemetery, told the NY Daily News he had filed burial permits for both of the bodies and no objections had been raised on either occasion. In addition, the group has a 2005 letter (via NPR) from Sidney's Code Enforcement official stating that he "inspected the above referenced property and hereby state that a cemetery at this location would be an allowed use according to the Town of Sidney Zoning Ordinance." According to the NY Daily News, the town zoning code permits graveyards on private property and there are no state regulations restricting burials on private property.
A spokesman for Osmanli Naksibendi Hakkani, the Sufi religious order responsible for the cemetery, told the NY Daily News he had filed burial permits for both of the bodies and no objections had been raised on either occasion. In addition, the group has a 2005 letter (via NPR) from Sidney's Code Enforcement official stating that he "inspected the above referenced property and hereby state that a cemetery at this location would be an allowed use according to the Town of Sidney Zoning Ordinance." According to the NY Daily News, the town zoning code permits graveyards on private property and there are no state regulations restricting burials on private property.
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