Muslim graves

Muslim Funeral

The Muslim burial ground was established in 2012 at the request of the Turkish-Islamic Community of Lübbecke e.V. The location, set apart from the rest of the cemetery, was deliberately chosen to raise the community’s visibility. There are other Muslim graves scattered throughout the cemetery grounds.

Muslims from the Balkans worked in Lübbecke in the tobacco industry or in the skilled trades. Their families are now in their third generation here and have long since become German citizens. They want to bury their loved ones where they live, rather than in the countries of origin of their parents and grandparents. Muslim graves are traditionally oriented toward the east, in the direction of Mecca. There should be no previously used graves in that area. In the event of a death, a funeral home is usually hired.

After death, the deceased is washed. Afterward, the deceased is not dressed but is wrapped in a white shroud. This is followed by the funeral prayer and the absolution of the deceased’s sins. Then the body is carried to the grave. Wrapped only in a white cloth, the deceased is lowered into the grave on a wooden board. The body is laid on its side, facing east toward Mecca, the holiest site in Islam. At the grave, a surah from the Quran is recited: “From it (the earth) We created you, and into it We shall return you...” Muslims are expected to bury their dead within 24 hours of death, if possible. Cremation and urns are taboo in Islam: “The body must remain intact and be returned to the earth as a whole.”