Gwinnett commissioners approve controversial Islamic cemetery

LAWRENCEVILLE - Over the objections of some Gwinnett County residents, county commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday night to allow the creation of an Islamic cemetery but not without conditions. <br> <br> The commissioners said the cemetery can have a maximum of 1,276 burial plots, compared to the 1,500 proposed by the Georgia Islamic Institute of Religious and Social Sciences. <br> <br> Wooden caskets must be used and placed in vaults to prevent soil from caving in on the graves, and the cemetery must be kept clean, the commissioners decided in a 4-0 vote. <br> <br> Homeowners who opposed the cemetery were not satisfied with the conditions set by the panel. <br> <br> ``We feel like we have been lied to and misled,&#39;&#39; said Heather Stonecypher, who has led the homewoner opposition. ``There are about 10 of us that want to move.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> She said Commissioner John Dunn, who represents the district where the cemetery will be located, has said he would not like to see it in his area. <br> <br> ``I think he could have done a little more for the community,&#39;&#39; Stonecypher said. <br> <br> Hafiz A. Ghaffar Khan, president of the Islamice institute, said neighbors need not worry. <br> <br> &#39;&#39;``This cemetery will be as good as any cemetery in the area,&#39;&#39; Khan said. <br> <br> The dispute began as a fight between Muslims who proposed the burial ground and neighbors worried about their property values, but the Sept. 11 attacks exposed raw religious differences between the two groups. <br> <br> The five months that have passed did not calm the debate. <br> <br> Cemetery opponents took pictures of an Islamic cemetery in Lovejoy that showed open graves, caved in and filled with murky water, marked by wooden boards on unkempt grounds. <br> <br> Khan and others said the condition of that grave site was not indicative of how they would maintain their cemetery. <br> <br> ``There can be some cemeteries here, Christian cemeteries, that aren&#39;t very well maintained,&#39;&#39; Khan said. ``We shouldn&#39;t blame one for the actions of another.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Residents of Grayson Oaks subdivision, which would border the cemetery, said they worry that pathogens from the decomposing bodies would seep into the soil and poison groundwater. Muslims customarily wrap the dead only in a shroud and bury their bodies within 24 hours. <br> <br> Khan said the institute was willing to compromise placing the bodies in coffins rather than just shrouds, using stone markers and otherwise making the cemetery look like others in Gwinnett.