Extra space has been allocated within a cemetery to accommodate Muslim burials for the foreseeable future.

After more than two decades of campaigning, Burnley Council, Lancashire, has finally granted a space at Burnley Cemetery, Asian Image reported Thursday.

“We are really pleased with the outcome,” Cllr Mohammed Ishtiaq, who represents Queensgate on Burnley Council, said.

“I am thankful for the work the council officers and the administration team have put in.

“It’s difficult to quantify, but we believe there is space for around 200 graves and this will be sufficient for the next few years. We are very, very happy.”

Ishtiaq has been leading the task to find a new space on behalf of other Muslim leaders and residents.

Yet, the effort to get extra space at Burnley Cemetery dates back to mid-1990s when former Burnley councilor Mozaquir Ali campaigned for the issue.

Commenting on the new space, Ali said: “The Muslim community is overwhelmingly pleased with the council’s decision offering a suitable and fitting site for Muslim burial which we visited on Monday afternoon.

“This is an outcome of our struggle, culmination of meetings and dialogue with the council for many years.

“We are heartened with the fact that we can now bury our loved and dear ones on a more appropriate and suitable ground.”

Islam calls for respecting human beings whether alive or dead.

A Muslim’s dead body should be immediately taken to a mortuary for washing and preparation.

Two or three adult Muslims should wash the body and then put on the shroud (kafan). Before the burial, the funeral prayer should be done.

The burial should be done as soon as possible. It is makruh (reprehensible) to delay the burial of the dead.

Funerals in Islam have always been simple with no elaborate services or extravagant caskets.