Daily Mail
January 11, 2014
Plans for a large, Muslim-only cemetery to be built on a plot of rural land have upset residents, who have publicly objected to the new development.
People from Catherine-de-Barnes, near Solihull in the West Midlands, have objected to the ‘major development’, which will include space for 4,000 followers of Islam to be buried, and 75 parking spaces for visitors.
As the latest census figures give the village’s population as just 613, this means the cemetery could eventually hold six-and-a-half times as many people as Catherine-de-Barnes itself.
The cemetery would be able to comply fully with Sharia law – which stipulates a method of bathing and shrouding the bodies of Muslims, before they are buried with their heads facing towards Mecca.
Solihull Council has received several letters of complaint about the plans, which were proposed by Mohammed Moosa.
The objections focus on the size of the cemetery, and the decision to place the patch on fertile land in the green belt.
One letter, from villager Karen Guest, 51, said: ‘We are amazed at yet another planning application on this beautiful arable land following the recent dogs’ home planning approval.
‘If further applications are approved then sooner rather than later the whole acreage will be built up.’