By: Sarwaralam
THE authorities in Sri Lanka are cremating the bodies of Muslim victims of the COVID-19 pandemic despite protests from members of the community.
The World Health Organization says either cremation or burial are appropriate means to deal with victims of the COVID-19 pandemic, but Sri Lanka insists on only one.
Sri Lanka had registered seven deaths from the coronavirus, of which three were Muslims.
Despite Islamic tradition requiring burial for Muslims, officials on the island state cremated all those who died.
Pavithra Wanniarachchi, Sri Lanka’s minister of health, on Sunday said: “The corpse of a person who has died or is suspected to have died, of… COVID-19 shall be cremated.”
Sri Lankan officials have justified the policy by saying that burials take longer than cremations, and the country’s groundwater levels are ‘too high’ thereby heightening the risk of infection spreading, reports said.
Sri Lankan Muslims, rights groups, and others, are not accepting that explanation.
Islamic groups on the island described the government decision as a “callous disregard” for the last rites of Muslims.
The United States Commission of International Religious freedom has also expressed concern about the policy.
