Disrespecting the dead is totally out of order. I remember when the French vandals did the same to the British world war veterans sometime ago, despite those very soldiers saving their arses.
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30 Muslim graves vandalised
By Elham Asaad Buaras
Bereaved relatives have been left devastated after vandals targeted Muslim graves in Leeds.
Police are treating the desecration in a Muslim section of Cottingley Cemetery as Islamophobic.
Families were distraught to find around 30 Muslim grave headstones (approximately 85 % of Muslims graves) kicked over, memorial plaques removed, rubbish scattered around and even a bin placed over one of the graves.
Sunjeeda Hanif discovered the vandalism on March 31, when she came, with husband Ashfaq Qamar and dad Khwaja Mohammed Hanif, to visit the grave of her mum, Surraya Jabeen, who died in 2003. She told The Muslim News, “Her wooden plaque had been taken out and thrown across the graveyard, and the stick has been broken. It’s shocking to see. We were all in tears and wondering where her plaque had gone. It took my dad and husband half an hour to find it.”
Footprints were still visible on one headstone engraved with Qur’an verses that had been kicked but stayed upright.
Hanif, community and policy development manager for charity, Policy Research on Aging and Ethnicity, called on Leeds City Council to install CCTV over the site.
Two pensioners, Raiz Begum and Asia Suleman, said it was “very painful” to see the damage to the graves. Three members of Begum’s immediate family are laid to rest at the cemetery. Hanif’s family arranged a meeting the following day with other bereaved family members and local councillors. She criticised Cottingley Cemetery for ignoring her telephone message, “I called them on Saturday and left a message, telling that we’ve found vandalised headstones but I’ve yet to receive a telephone call.”
She added, “We’ve paid for the plots. It’s not the job of relatives to protect the headstones. Just because we’ve been in contact with council members it doesn’t mean the cemetery doesn’t have a responsibility.”
A spokesman from Leeds City Council told The Muslim News cemetery officials had already contacted them adding “the cemetery is run by the Council. We have been informed by the cemetery officials after Ms Hanif called them.”
Another grieving relative, Irene Majid, whose husband’s headstone was vandalised, told The Muslim News, “My husband Mukhtar has been here for two years and I am frightened to put a headstone on.”
Sajid Rashid, whose father is buried there, told The Muslim News there had been incidents before and he wanted the area to be fenced off. “It’s hurtful that someone should do it. My father’s headstone had been pulled down and a basket of flowers kicked off.”
In a statement to The Muslim News Councillor Patrick Davey, said, “It’s obviously very distressing for the families involved. I have contacted Paul Rogerson, Chief Executive of Leeds City Council, to make him aware and he can discuss the situation with senior officers at the Council.”
He said that the same sort of damage happened at graveyards across the city serving all different faiths.
Sergeant Damien Miller told The Muslim News the damage was being treated as an Islamophobic attack as it was limited to the Muslim area of the cemetery. “Damage caused to the graves of people’s loved ones is particularly offensive and we would like anyone with information to contact us. We do feel it might have an Islamophobic motive as only the Muslims graves were targeted.”
He said they had stepped up patrols in the area, including at the cemetery, following the searches in Beeston, which came after recent arrests of three men alleged in connection with the July 7 London bombings.
Thugs will do this kind of stuff all the time. I live in a fairly small town, and our local cemetary is vandalized quite often. I don't know what the motivation was behind this, but punk kids get their laughs from damaging private property, especially property deemed to be sacred by religious folks.
"Imagination was given to man to compensate him for what he is not, and a sense of humor was provided to console him for what he is."
Anyone who desecrates a grave (doesn't matter what religion, race, nationality etc the person inside it is) is a waste of life. It's very sad that it seems to happen so often.
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