Councillor Jason Stacey has described the attack on Saturday 28th September 2008, which saw 40 graves in the Muslim section of the Bridge Road cemetery wrecked, as “utterly despicable”.
He said: “It is utterly despicable that someone should break into a cemetery and desecrate graves. This incident has caused great upset, not only for the relatives of people buried there, but also for the wider community.
“Grave markers and commemorative vases in the Muslim area of the cemetery were vandalised and we are assisting police in their investigation into the incident.
“Council officers will be on site all day today clearing up the damage and returning all grave markers to their rightful place as quickly as possible.”
The graves were wrecked when vandals pulled out headstones and smashed vases and gates around various grave sites. A number of Christian graves were also desecrated.
A Local Muslim Dalawar Chaudrey, whose father is buried in the cemetery on Bridge Road, said the damage was a “callous calculated act”.
He said: “I was there yesterday and it was just a callous calculated attack to coincide with the very holy month of Ramadan when everybody’s fasting.
“This is an outrageous and unacceptable attack on our community. People have paid a lot of money to have their relatives buried there, and this is not acceptable.”
The restaurateur, who owns Chaudrey’s TKC in Southall Broadway, said there had been a campaign going on for three years to get Ealing Council to clean up the area.
He said: “We have been on to them about problems of prostitution and drug use and drinking down there. But nothing has been done.
The local MP has added his voice to a campaign to improve security at the graveyard.Virendra Sharma MP (Lab/Ealing Southall) has written to Ealing Council to demand action at the cemetery in Bridge Road.
He said: “It is a very sad day. I have visited the site with Superintendent Ian Jenkins of Ealing Police and the local Safer Neighbourhood Police to talk to them about securing the site.
“This is a callous attack, but we need people to remain calm.
“I have also written to Ealing Council to ask them to install CCTV in the area to stop such a thing happening again.
“We need to increase the security and safety of the graves to make sure something like this cannot happen again.”
From the Ealing Times www.ealingtimes.co.uk
Centre Postscript
It is hoped that the culprits of this mindless vandalism are apprehended, we should also pray for the guidance of those who find amusement in insulting the memory of the deceased. Islam respects and protects the rights of those who have passed on to the hereafter, as highlighted in the following selection of authentic hadith (narrations).
The Prophet (pbuh) said, “Do not abuse the dead, for they have reached the result of what they have done.” [Sahih Bukhari]
The Prophet (pbuh) said, “Mistreatment and breaking the bones of the dead is like breaking the bones of the living.” [Ahmed & Ibn Maja]
Narrated Jabir bin Abdullah(ra): A funeral procession passed in front of us and the Prophet (pbuh) stood up and we too stood up. We said, “O Messenger of Allah! This is a funeral procession of a Jewish person.” He said, “Is he not a human being? Whenever you see a funeral procession you should stand up.” [Sahih Bukhari]
