France Opens First Municipal Muslim Cemetery

AFP and RFI report that on Monday, France opened its first municipal Muslim cemetery.  France's 1905 law on the separation of church and state bars creating municipal cemeteries limited to only one religion. This means that cities have been limited to setting aside Muslim-only sections in existing cemeteries.  However the new Muslim cemetery was opened in the city of Strasbourg in the Alsace-Moselle region which is subject to a different basic law because it came under French control only after World War I. Muslims in France see the new cemetery as an important symbol of their belonging after a series of measures aimed at maintaining France's secular tradition, such as one barring wearing the full-face veil (see prior posting), were perceived as anti-Muslim.