Cape Town - While observing the month of Ramadaan, Muslims across Cape Town will be happy to know a Muslim cemetery that has been closed in Cape Town since its last burial in 1896 will be reopening on Friday.
The Brodie Road Muslim Cemetery in Wynberg will be available for burials from Saturday, the Yusufeyyah Masjid Committee and the Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) announced.
According to historic documents, the land was provided to the Muslim community by the then-colonial government in 1848.
Imam Badrodien, who was the ‘Malay Priest’ at the time for the Wynberg area, was entrusted with the oversight of the cemetery on behalf of the Wynberg Muslim community.
According to the MJC, over time and with Yusufeyyah Masjid's establishment in 1867, the masjid took over the custodianship of the Brodie Road Cemetery. The cemetery was last utilised 127 years ago.
The persistence over decades of a Yusufeyyah Masjid committee member, the late Salie Dawjee, who pursued engagement with the City to have the cemetery reopened for burials, paved the way for the current members of the masjid committee to start the process with the City of Cape Town again.
With the current shortage of burial space in Cape Town, the burial administration of the MJC has worked closely with the cemetery management and, after months of consultations, has welcomed the news of the reopening.
“We, as a community, have reclaimed that which has been made difficult for us in terms of burial space for the Western Cape. We thank the Yusufeyya Committee, Mrs Susan Brice, Head of Cemetery Management for the City of Cape Town, and those who preceded us and have been involved for the many years.
“We also thank Faizal Sayed, Chairman of the Moslem Cemetery Board, and members of Mowbray Cemetery Board and Abdullah Salie, Chairman of the Vygieskraal Cemetery Board, who offered their assistance and will continue to support the efforts of the Brodie Road Cemetery Management,” Sheik Riad Fataar, second Deputy President of the MJC and Chairman of the Burial Administration Department said.
Fataar described the importance of the reopening of the Brodie Road Cemetery as the embodiment of the community working together with key role players such as the Yusefeyyah Committee, the City of Cape Town and others in making it a success.
Shiekh Ebrahiem Moos from the Yusufeyyah Masjid Committee said the green light for reopening the cemetery was given by the City of Cape Town in September last year.
“The committee has been working tirelessly since then to prepare for burials. We are honoured and thankful for having been granted the opportunity to build on the legacy of our forefathers in seeing to the needs of our community. In completing the project of reopening the cemetery, we must acknowledge many individuals and organisations, past and present, who contributed to its success,” Moos said.
The Brodie Road Muslim Cemetery will officially be in operation from Saturday, April 8, 2023, and members of the public wishing to bury their loved ones at the cemetery are urged to contact a registered undertaker who will make all the arrangements for the burial.
robin.francke@inl.co.za
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