About a hundred people joined a vigil held in front of city hall in Thorold, Ont., to honour an 18-year-old woman who died in a recent car crash.
They were also protesting the city’s decision, at the last-minute, to deny her family’s request for Muslim burial accommodations at a public cemetery.
The vigil later moved inside the city hall, filling the lobby as city councillors and staff walked past to attend a council meeting.
Alina Masud lived in Thorold and studied psychology at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ont. She hoped to work in criminal psychology some day and was the middle daughter of three.
Masud died in a collision on Highway 406 on the evening of Dec. 3.
The family’s imam, Asad Mahmood, and the director of the city-owned Lakeview Cemetery agreed she could be buried on Dec. 6 in a section that would be dedicated for Muslim burials. And, as is tradition, her body would face Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Islam’s holiest city.
Just an hour before her burial, Mahmood said the director could no longer proceed with the burial after Thorold councillors denied the accommodation request.
“When we were not allowed to bury the body here, that time was a time of crisis and so stressful,” Masud’s father, Malik Masud, told CBC News.
“I see the support, the community. I’m not alone,” Malik said.
People from all over the Niagara Region joined the vigil, expressing concerns over the lack of space for Muslim burials.
“It’s extremely heartbreaking for all of us, because she’s not just a name in the headlines,” said Binoy Mahmud, former president at Brock University’s Muslim Students’ Association. “She was someone who walked our halls, who attended the same classrooms, and someone with a future.”
“I spoke to a lot of students. And not only are we extremely disappointed about what happened to Alina, but also our concern for our fellow Muslims that live here,” Mahmud added.
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After the last-minute change, her family was able to bury Masud at the Islamic Cemetery of Niagara in Niagara Falls, Ont.
“We should not be driving long distance to bury our dead,” said Dr. Yousef Haj-Ahmad, founder of the Haj-Ahmad Family Foundation, which he said has donated over $7 million to educational and health institutions across the Niagara Region.
“It’s definitely very sad that we are resident[s] of Niagara, we are resident[s] of Thorold, and they would not give the Muslim community a plot to bury their dead,” added Haj-Ahmad.
“I don’t know what went wrong, but we really desired to get a burial in [Thorold],” said Masud. “Being here means that I am around Alina, and Alina is with me all the time … I could not get that feeling.”
Malik hopes the next person won’t “have to go through the same thing” and that by that time, there would be space for Muslims to be buried.
The Bereavement Authority of Ontario, which oversees the death care sector, confirmed to CBC News that it is looking into the case, but would not provide comment at this time.
In an email to CBC News, the city wrote it extended their condolences to the family, as well as loved ones and friends.
“Staff informed the family and provided an alternative which the family declined,” read the email. “We sincerely apologize for the added burden this situation has caused during an already difficult time.”
Mahmood said the alternative option is largely occupied with non-Muslim graves.
“They’re asking us to make one grave in that section facing Mecca,” said Mahmood. “We need every grave in that section facing Mecca.”
Since 2023, Mahmood said he has requested the city dedicate a section for Muslim burials. The city agreed to sell the land for $50,000, along with an additional $9,000 to survey and paint the ground to ensure the burials are facing Mecca.
A year later, the city returned the money, “saying that they cannot segregate the cemetery,” Mahmood said.
According to a bylaw, passed on July 11, 2023, the public cemetery is prohibited to sell plots in unopened areas of the public cemetery before selling out existing sections.
The bylaw was put forward after Thorold councillors discussed concerns of segregation in a public cemetery.
Mahmood says it’s not “segregation.”
“This is accommodating a community that has different faith values and different way[s] of praying and different way[s] of burying people.”
Protesters are hoping city councillors reconsider.
“I hope they reverse that decision and consider us as citizens of this community,” said Haj-Ahmad.
