Burial of Expatriates

I could not believe my eyes when I saw a letter sent to the director general of Kuwait municipality from his assistant for municipal services. The letter was titled “Continued increase of the number of deaths of expats who are buried in the State of Kuwait’s cemeteries”. The letter ended with the recommendation that burial in Kuwait cemeteries be for Kuwaitis only, and that non-Kuwaitis should be allowed to be buried in Kuwait only in extreme necessity and in cemeteries decided by the department.

One can expect and accept anything in a country that he is a guest in, because it is only right for one to abide by the laws of the land he is in, but is death something one has control over? Whenever I go to Sulaibikhat for the funeral of a friend – be it a Kuwaiti or an expat – I always heard those present include prayers that bless Kuwait, its people and rulers for this service – the burial.

How nice is it, with those in grief still remembering to ask Almighty Allah to protect Kuwait against all harm and evil. The efforts of Kuwaiti officials and people to liberate the country from a brutal occupation and ruthless tyrant were augmented by Kuwait’s charitable activities all over the world in all types, shapes and forms.

I hope that this proposal by the municipality official came during a time when he was under some sort of duress or was given false or inaccurate information about what is going on. Yes, it is a must for authorities to regulate expat labor. Yes it is alright to solve the problem of crowding at various state departments.

Yes, it is correct to ease pressure at clinics and hospitals. Yes it is alright to do something about traffic and control it…but, do you notice, my friends, that all that is under control of human beings? But, does anyone, anywhere around the globe have any control over his death and its place and time? Is it not mentioned in the Holy Quran that “no one knows where he’ll die”? Kuwait is a Muslim country, its constitution states that.

Kuwaitis are highly religious, and they are highly charitable as we are all aware of both at the official and individual levels. Kuwaiti scholars will for sure intervene to explain why this is not the right move and decision. Islamic tradition urges Muslims to bury their dead as quickly as possible to preserve the dignity of the deceased and the quickest way is to bury the dead where they die, unless they wanted to be buried somewhere else, like expats for example, because death is the only event in the world that does not discriminate at all between the old and young, man or woman, national or expat. What do you think?

By A Mohammad