Fear of Muslims prompts Chisago County to reject Bosnian cemetery

Rasa - Chisago is a county divided over the prospect of letting Muslims bury their dead in town.

News ID: 426516

Date: 13 January 2017 - 21:31

RNA - The Islamic Community of Bosniaks, a small Bosnian congregation with a mosque in the Twin Cities, wants to build a private cemetery on a parcel of farmland in Chisago Lake Township.

It’s a modest proposal. Last year the congregation had only four deaths. They don’t expect to fill the 16 acres for generations to come.

But Chisago residents near and far have reacted as if it’s a very big deal, bringing complaints and concerns about everything from the fear of increased traffic to the fear that Muslims burial practices would pollute nearby well water. While some have gone out of their way to to make uninvited assurances that they are definitely not bigots, others have displayed their hatred of Islam openly.

The county also received emails and voicemails from folks who didn't try to mask their religious intolerance.

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