Quebec City to Establish its First Muslim Cemetery

Toronto – On land purchased from a funeral home called Harmonia, Quebec city’s Muslim community will establish its very first Muslim cemetery, according to CTV News.

The Islamic Cultural Centre will make a sizable donation of $250,000 to the site, located in St-Apollinaire, west of Levis.

For ten years, Quebec City’s Muslim population has been working toward this moment. Last month, when a Quebec City mosque was attacked and 6 worshippers murdered, five of the victims were repatriated to their birth countries and one was buried in a cemetery located in Montreal.

There are currently only five Muslim cemeteries in the entire province, all of them located in Montreal. With a population between 8,000-10,000 Muslims living in Quebec City, the establishment of a cemetery here is considered long overdue by the Muslim community. Quebec City mayor, Regis Labeaume, said he had been actively working with the community to achieve this important goal.

According to the Montreal Gazette, a group of approximately 70 members of the Islamic Cultural Centre, target of the January massacre, decided to donate $215,000 on Sunday to purchase the land for the future cemetery site, just across the river from Quebec City. Initially, officials from the centre had tried to locate an appropriate plot of land within Quebec City itself, but found the $1 million price tag too dear.