A new charitable organisation, the Derby Muslim Burial Council (DMBC) has been established in the city to provide any bereaved family with burial advice, support, and signposting information during and after their time of bereavement.
The Council is a partnership of all the key Muslim organisations and will also include representation from Derby City Council Bereavement Services. It will oversee the Muslim burial process, developing an operational strategy to improve burials at Nottingham Rd Cemetery, providing one voice for the local community.
There will be a focus on supporting the Muslim community, Bereavement Services, Funeral Directors and families of the deceased to ensure all burials are conducted in a dignified and respectful manner and on bridging the gap between statutory services and the Muslim community.
The announcement comes following a consultation exercise conducted by Community Action Derby (CAD) with representatives from local mosques, voluntary/community organisations and key stakeholders including Derby City Council. The consultation exercise, which included representatives of the eight mainstream mosques, Community Leaders from the Pakistani Community Centre and Community One, was set up to share ways to improve the existing Muslim Burial Action Group.
An interim shadow board has been created to oversee burials during COVID- 19 and the Council will officially launch on Thursday 27th August.
Councillor Jonathan Smale, Cabinet Member for Communities, Neighbourhoods and Streetpride said:
This is a great piece of work and I’d like to thank the Muslim Community and all those involved for coming together to help improve how we conduct Muslim burials. Having one group in place to co-ordinate and discuss improvements can only lead to better outcomes for bereaved families.