https://usmc.oxomeka.org/files/original/c5d72b64a3354c8097aa2d44ecf73981.jpg 6ae9671ca820faa03ac86efd1f5d5516 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Description An account of the resource Headstones at Sufi Cemetery in Sidney, NY Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Andrew Reinbach Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Tiny Upstate New York Town Wants Local Muslims to Dig Up Their Cemetery A town in upstate New York is trying to force a local Muslim religious community to dig up a small cemetery on its property and never bury anyone there again because it says it's illegal. By Andrew Reinbach, Contributor Journalist Sep 27, 2010, 12:10 AM EDT https://www.huffpost.com/entry/tiny-upstate-new-york-tow_b_739832 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Description An account of the resource This collection documents 29 cases of public opposition towards American Muslim cemetery building projects from 2002 to 2023. Each case contains a narrative that describes its events, which was compiled through analyzing newspaper archives via NewsBank and NexisUni. The primary challenge American Muslim communities face when establishing cemeteries is obtaining administrative approval from an entity such as a city council or board of commissioners. Residents' concerns related to groundwater contamination, lowered property values, and aesthetics often pressure authorities to deny cemetery projects. These reasons for opposition differ from those involving mosques, which tend to focus on increased traffic, violations of noise ordinances, and the potential for terrorism. This collection is more comprehensive than other compilations of cemetery cases, which cover a limited timeframe, are no longer current, or need to be updated (e.g., Pew Research Center 2012, Younes 2017, ACLU 2017, New America 2018, HuffPost 2024). However, it does not fully represent all controversies surrounding American Muslim cemeteries, as it focuses on post-2000 cases and does not include cases of vandalism against established cemeteries. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ryan Wang Title A name given to the resource Cemeteries Language A language of the resource English Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Oxford College of Emory University Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Current and former Oxford College of Emory University students: Sofia Fonti, Ben Damon, Geneva Cunningham, Ameer Alnasser, Nadira Hassan, Chloe Peyrebrune, Lauren Yee, Ammarah Ahmed, Alexander Cleveland, Ehren Fernandez, Andres Lebed Wright, Bryce Bentinck, Rahim Khan Alidina, Ayman Badawy, George Drakos, Shahmeer Khan, and Snehitha Vardhineni. Project supervisor: Dr. Florian Pohl Case Use this Item Type to create the case Item Pages for the U.S. Mosque Controversies site. Case Number Enter the case number in this field using the format: Case No. XX_00 (e.g. Case No. Ga_01) Case No. Ny_03 Location The location of the interview Sidney, NY Address Enter the full address, if it is available. 1663 Wheat Hill Rd, Sidney Center, NY 13839 Plus Code Enter the plus code for the location, if it is available. 8Q97+X9 Sidney Center, New York Proposed By List the entity (legal entity or community name) that proposed the project. <a href="https://www.naksibendi.us/">Osmanli Naksibendi Hakkani Sufi Order</a> Type of Opposition Public Campaign, Vandalism, Legal Action, Local Ordinance Local Ordinance Outcome Rejected, Approved, Approved with Modifications The town dropped its plans to pursue a lawsuit in October 2010 but planned to regulate private burials, except religious ones Narrative Enter the narrative about the case here. In the summer of 2010, the Sidney Town Board initiated legal action to stop the Osmanli Naksibendi Hakkani Dergahi—a Sufi Islamic spiritual center—from using a portion of its 50-acre property as a cemetery. The order had purchased the land, a former sheep farm, in 2002 and designated 650 square feet for cemetery use. The first burial occurred in November 2009, followed by a second in the summer of 2010. On September 14, 2010, journalist Patricia Breakey reported in The Daily Star that the Sidney Town Board had passed an injunction at its August 12 meeting to prohibit burials on private property, effectively targeting the Sufi community's cemetery (Breakey, 2010, Sep 14). Town Supervisor Bob McCarthy explained that the Town Board had directed its lawyer to explore a lawsuit against the Sufi Order for conducting two Muslim burials without notifying local authorities or obtaining proper permits. McCarthy stated the town's intention to have the bodies disinterred and to stop future burials. He stressed that these steps were necessary to prevent any group from bypassing regulations, regardless of religion, stating, "Unauthorized cemeteries have the potential of placing a financial burden on the local government as well as dictating the use of the land for perpetuity” (ibid.). In response to the town board's actions, the Sufi center members emphasized strict adherence to town regulations. They presented a 2005 document from the town zoning board confirming that the cemetery was permitted use according to the Town of Sidney Zoning Ordinance. They noted that licensed funeral directors conducted the burials with proper permits (Seely, 2010, Oct 2). The legal dispute between the Sufi center and the Sidney Town Board escalated to a national level of attention in September. The story was covered by the Huffington Post (Reinbach, 2010, Sep 27) and featured on MSNBC’s “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” and Comedy Central’s “Colbert Report.” The national spotlight underscored the salience of the issue, which emerged during a period of heightened tension over Muslim building projects in the runup to the 2010 midterm elections, including the protests over an Islamic Center near Ground Zero in Manhattan. In October, opposition to the Town Board's actions grew, with nearly 40 area clergy from various faiths urging the board to drop the issue. They supported the Sufi community’s right to practice their faith and criticized the singling out of one religion (Clergy's letter supports Sufi order, 2010, Oct 9). "Though we are members and leaders of different faith traditions, we stand beside our Sufi brothers and sisters to support their right to practice their faith and live as peaceful, law-abiding, contributing members of our society," the letter said (Clergy's letter supports Sufi order (ibid.). On October 13, a day before a Town Board meeting, the Sufi community's lawyer announced that the local government would drop plans to force the cemetery's closure. However, the board still intended to enact a law preventing burials on private property but excluding religious and not-for-profit groups. Despite this, the New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY) demanded a public apology from town officials for attempting to close the cemetery (CAIR seeks apology, 2010, Oct 14). At the next day’s Town Board meeting, more than 100 attendees chanted for McCarthy's resignation after he refused to apologize for his actions and the negative attention brought to the town (Crowd calls for McCarthy's resignation, 2010, Oct 15). Local opposition to McCarthy and the Town Board persisted in the following months. Concerned Citizens for Responsible Sidney Government petitioned for McCarthy's resignation and filed formal complaints about his management with the New York Attorney General and Comptroller, backed by signed petitions (Rainbach, 2010, Nov 8). In the November 2011 Sidney town elections, a slate of candidates endorsed by McCarthy was defeated by Democratic and bipartisan candidates, with the cemetery controversy being a key issue for voters (Boshnack, 2011, Nov 10). References <ul> <li>Boshnack, M. (2011, November 10). Unhappy Sidney voters turn out in high numbers. The Daily Star. Available from <a href="https://infoweb-newsbank-com.proxy.library.emory.edu/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=WORLDNEWS&req_dat=0D0CB4F3D1A01B2A&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews%252F13AEFCD416DD9B70">NewsBank</a>. </li> <li>Breakey, P. (2010, September 14). Sidney Town Board objects to cemetery. The Daily Star. Available from <a href="https://infoweb-newsbank-com.proxy.library.emory.edu/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=WORLDNEWS&req_dat=0D0CB4F3D1A01B2A&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews%252F1323D87A49343F38">NewsBank</a>.</li> <li>CAIR seeks apology from NY town over Muslim cemetery flap. (2010, October 14). PR Newswire. Available from <a href="https://infoweb-newsbank-com.proxy.library.emory.edu/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=WORLDNEWS&req_dat=0D0CB4F3D1A01B2A&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews%252F132DD2EA8F82EAB0">NewsBank</a>.</li> <li>Clergy's letter supports Sufi order. (2010, October 9). The Daily Star. Available from <a href="https://infoweb-newsbank-com.proxy.library.emory.edu/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=WORLDNEWS&req_dat=0D0CB4F3D1A01B2A&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews%252F132C10F75ED49BD0">NewsBank</a>. Crowd calls for McCarthy's resignation in Sidney. (2010, October 15). The Daily Star. Available from <a href="https://infoweb-newsbank-com.proxy.library.emory.edu/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=WORLDNEWS&req_dat=0D0CB4F3D1A01B2A&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews%252F132E0A324E6C3708">NewsBank</a>.</li> <li>Reinbach, A. (2010, September 27). Tiny Upstate New York Town Wants Local Muslims to Dig Up Their Cemetery. Huffington Post. <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/tiny-upstate-new-york-tow_b_739832">Web</a>.</li> <li>Reinbach, A. (2010, November 8). Sidney, NY knuckling down for a brawl. Huffington Post. <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/sidney-ny-knuckling-down_b_780428">Web</a>.</li> <li>Seely, H. (2010, October 2). Tiny cemetery in ground zero in Islam debate. The Post-Standard, p. A1. Available from <a href="https://infoweb-newsbank-com.proxy.library.emory.edu/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=WORLDNEWS&req_dat=0D0CB4F3D1A01B2A&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews%252F132A0467C56512B0">NewsBank</a>. </li> </ul> Proposed Project The Sufi community used a portion of its 50-acre property as a cemetery. The first burial occurred in November 2009, followed by a second in the summer of 2010. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Description An account of the resource In 2010, the Sidney Town Board took legal action to stop the Osmanli Naksibendi Hakkani Dergahi from using part of its 50-acre property as a cemetery. The Sufi community purchased the land in 2002 and began using it for burials in 2009. The Town Board claimed the burials were illegal and sought to disinter the bodies. The Sufi group argued they had followed town regulations. The dispute gained national attention and led to significant local opposition. Ultimately, the town dropped its plans to pursue a lawsuit but planned to regulate private burials. Persistent community opposition to the Town Board characterized the controversy and led to significant changes in the 2011 town election. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Florian Pohl Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Oxford College of Emory University Title A name given to the resource Sidney, NY Approved Cemetery Legislation