New Muslim burial ground at the New Cemetery

"Stadtservice has a wide range of offerings at the municipal cemeteries, from simple to elaborate burial sites, in order to meet all the needs of our citizens wherever possible," adds Christian Loose, deputy head of Offenbach's municipal cemeteries. "We also offer our Muslim citizens their own burial plots, where coffinless burials are also possible."

According to Selim Tunc, chairman of the DiTib Turkish-Islamic community in Offenbach, most Muslims living in Offenbach still have funeral insurance that pays for their repatriation to their country of origin after their death. However, especially among those who are the second or third generation to live in Germany or Offenbach, more and more want to be buried here after their death or want a burial plot for their deceased relatives. "A Turkish woman living here told me that she would like to have her mother buried here and not in Turkey," says Selim Tunc, "in Turkey she could only see the grave once a year on vacation, in Offenbach a visit is possible at any time."

The first discussions about a separate burial ground for Muslims began in Offenbach in the 1970s, recalls Abdelkader Rafoud, Chairman of the city's Foreigners' Advisory Council. At that time, the main aim was to bury Muslims who could not afford death insurance in accordance with the requirements of their religion. At that time, the money for their repatriation was usually collected from the family or the community.

An initial initiative by Abdelkader Rafoud, then chairman of the Moroccan Cultural Center, for a separate burial ground in Offenbach that would comply with Islamic regulations failed in 1991. It was not until 1997 that the city council approved a new application for a Muslim burial ground. The field was then inaugurated at the New Cemetery in 2001. "There were many skeptics at the time, including among Muslims, as to whether anyone would want to be buried here," says Abdelkader Rafoud. "But our children and grandchildren were born here, have their home here and also want to be buried here - and now this first field is already full." There are no statistics on how many Muslims live in Offenbach. However, the chairman of the Foreigners' Advisory Council estimates that there are more than 18,000.

"All over the world, deceased Muslims are laid in a white shroud about 1.50 meters deep in the ground with their face towards Mecca," says Imam Halil Elma, explaining the burial regulations. In the Muslim burial grounds, the burial regulations are observed as far as possible. Only permanent gravesites with a renewable period of use of 30 years are allocated.

The graves are laid out in such a way that the deceased lies on his or her right side, facing Mecca. A suitable room is available for the ritual washing of the dead as required by Islam and the mourning hall for prayers for the dead. A coffinless burial is possible after approval by the municipal health department. This is practiced at around a quarter of the 20 Muslim funerals currently held each year.

At the grave site, only a stone with a name and a sura is provided as a marker so that Muslims can say their prayers there, the imam explains further. Grave decorations, on the other hand, are considered wasteful in the Islamic faith, especially in view of the fact that many people go hungry.

But it is not only in Offenbach that second or third generation Muslims are adapting the appearance of their relatives' graves to the German burial culture: many of the gravesites are now lovingly decorated with flowers.