First Muslim cemetery to open by June

Khalil Elshazly, past president of the Islamic Society of Frederick, said last week that work at the cemetery began about four weeks ago with sediment control and grading. Next, the work of marking plots, constructing driveways and planting trees and shrubs, such as Yoshino cherry trees, red maples and hydrangea, can begin.

Once finished, the cemetery will be open for burials to any Muslim in the Maryland-Virginia-Pennsylvania area, he added.

Elshazly noted that many Muslim families in the area use George Washington Cemetery in Adelphi, or wherever lots are available, to bury their loved ones. Islamic burial practices require the deceased to be washed, wrapped in cotton cloth and buried as soon as possible.

‘‘It’s always a scramble to find a lot,” he said. ‘‘This will make it easier and then they’re not at the mercy of other cemeteries.”

Mohammed Sayeed of the Islamic Society of Frederick said the three Islamic societies have yet to decide how much plots will cost and how many each organization will be allowed.

Though no official numbers are available regarding how many Muslim cemeteries exist across the U.S., Elshazly said the Frederick cemetery is the first in the Northeast. According to site plans submitted to Frederick County’s Department of Development and Review in 2005, land for the cemetery and memorial garden is zoned for agricultural use and was once the site of an extensive fruit orchard and farm operated by the Rogers family in Adamstown.

In August 2007, the county officially approved the Islamic societies’ plan to build the cemetery.