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Mosques are not Cemetries - Imam Fatty

The Imam of state house mosque, Alhagie Abdoulie Fatty, has said that orthodox Islamic practice and beliefs does not sanction the burying of the dead in mosques. The renowned religious scholar therefore called on the Muslim Umma to refrain from the practice.

Imam Fatty was preaching to a congregation of Muslims last Friday during the inauguration of the Bakoteh East Mosque.

Pursuing his point, Imam Fatty asserted that mosques are supposed to be retreats for Muslims, adding that all the graves currently located in mosques should be exhumed and relocated to the public cemeteries in accordance with acceptable Islamic practice.

The vocal Imam also said that the exhibition of pictures of all kinds in mosques is in conflict with Islamic teaching, noting that it is unIslamic to behold one’s face inside a mosque while worshipping Allah. He made mention of two practices which, according to him, are forbidden in a mosque and therefore do not confer any reward in the hereafter. These, he said, are the act of making announcement about lost items and the act of selling.

Fatty disclosed that the first mosque in the world is KA’BAH in Saudi Arabia, located between Mecca and Medina. He emphasised that mosques are not built for business but strictly to worship Allah. He also called on the Muslim Umma to perform their solitary   prayer retreats (Kalwa) in mosques, adding that there is no better place than mosques to beseech the Almighty Allah for His blessings. He further called on the residents and workers within the vicinity of new mosque to strive to always perform the five daily prayers in the mosque, urging the congregation to seek knowledge in Islam and practise its teachings. “Do what Islam teaches and eschew what it prohibits,” he concluded before leading the congregation of over one thousand Muslim worshippers in prayers.