You want a Muslim cemetery?” said a resident of the Massachusetts town of Dudley, speaking at a zoning meeting which was determining if a Muslim cemetery would be allowed a permit. “Fine — put it in your back yard. Not mine.”
Ultimately, the town’s zoning board rejected the request for permit which has led to a lawsuit from the Islamic Society of Greater Worcester.
Last week, the Massachusetts U.S. attorney’s office announced that its civil rights unit has opened an investigation into whether Dudley violated the civil rights of the Islamic society. “We are committed to protecting the rights of Americans of all faiths,” U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz said in a statement. “All Americans have the right to worship and to bury their loved ones in accordance with their religious beliefs, free from discrimination. We are opening this investigation to assess whether there have been violations of federal civil rights laws in connection with the request to establish an Islamic cemetery in Dudley.”
