New Castle County, DE
Description
Creator
Year
Proposed Project
Outcome
Narrative
A Light of Hope is an organization that provides religious and educational services to the local Muslim community in Delaware. In addition to establishing a mosque and funeral home where they perform washing and shrouding for free, A Light of Hope constructed a Muslim cemetery in New Castle County. Previously, families needed to drive more than an hour to the nearest Muslim cemetery in South Jersey or opt for a non-Muslim burial ground (Read, 2020, Mar 5).
In February 2020, after only three burials had taken place, the property failed a code inspection and was subsequently issued a cease-and-desist order to halt all burials (Cherry, 2020, Feb 28). Though current zoning allows for new cemetery use, no land use plans have been approved by the county. State Representative Kevin Hensley, whose district covers the unauthorized cemetery, said in a Facebook post that he had received multiple calls from constituents about “suspicious” activity at the property (ibid.). County officials stated that the cease-and-desist order would be in effect until they approve all required land use plan submissions and any associated site improvements. Additionally, New Castle County would have discretion over how the proposed property would impact traffic, noise, and similar criteria (ibid.).
The next month, leaders from A Light of Hope met with county officials to obtain approval for their cemetery (Bodies Buried Along, 2020, Mar 4). The property did not comply with local codes as it did not contain parking and walkways. During a press conference, New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer stated that the cemetery could continue burying people without special permission once safety concerns were met (Porter, 2020, Mar 4). On March 5, it was reported that A Light of Hope was working with the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) to pave a driveway and add parking spaces. The cease-and-desist order was temporarily lifted for humanitarian reasons to allow for the burial of 1-year-old Ja-Ziyah Gordon, who was taken off life support after being born with a heart defect and contracting a deadly lung disease (Cease and desist order lifted, 2020, Mar 4).
In August 2020, about 70 people who live near the Muslim cemetery met to ask county officials questions about the approved project (Parrish, 2020, Sep 2). The meeting was initially scheduled for March 25 but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Residents mainly voiced their concerns about the risk of groundwater contamination. In response, public health officials stated that they did not believe water contamination would occur based on the water flow and history of the land (ibid.). Questions about environmental regulations and how the county would monitor water quality were left unanswered because officials from the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) were invited to the meeting but did not attend. Naveed Baqir, a representative from A Light of Hope, briefly spoke to the crowd, stating that many of the residents’ questions could have been answered if they had contacted the organization.
Additionally, Baqir accused Hensley, who organized the meeting, of exhibiting racist behavior by not including the Muslim community in the conversation. “I feel like I am crashing the party today because I was not invited. The Muslim community was not invited,” he said. “You are asking the right questions to the wrong people” (ibid.). In response, Port Penn residents claimed their concerns were not racially motivated and instead related to the quality of their water supply. Hensley stated that he did not invite anyone specifically to the meeting and only posted about the event on Facebook.
Ultimately, the cease-and-desist order was lifted after a driveway and parking spaces were added. New Castle County authorized 942 burials and the construction of a 1,000-square-foot building (ibid.). The Muslim Cemetery of Delaware is now fully operational.
References
- Bodies Buried Along Delaware Road Raises Red Flags. (2020, March 4). NBC10 Philadelphia. Web.
- Cease and desist order lifted at Delaware’s only Muslim cemetery. (2020, March 4). ABC6 Philadelphia. Web.
- Cherry, A. (2020, February 28). New Castle County halts burials at unauthorized cemetery in Port Penn. WDEL 107.1FM. Web.
- Parrish, A. (2020, September 2). Concerns over Muslim cemetery in Port Penn continue. The News Journal. Web.
- Porter, I. (2020, March 4). Burials will proceed at Muslim cemetery once safety conditions are addressed. The News Journal. Web.
- Read, Z. (2020, March 5). Delaware’s only Muslim cemetery can resume burials after cease-and-desist order lifted. The Philadelphia Tribune. Web.