Quebec Islamic cultural centre president Boufeldja Benabdallah, left, and Quebec City mayor Regis Labeaume hold one of the six metal leafs representing one of the six victims of the 2017 Mosque shooting, Tuesday, January 29, 2019 in Quebec City. Quebec City’s mayor has signed a deed of sale for a parcel of land that will soon become the region’s first Muslim cemetery.

Mayor Regis Labeaume had promised the land to the city’s Muslim community in 2017, shortly after residents of a nearby town voted against a proposal to open an Islamic cemetery in their area.

The mayor was joined for the public signing Thursday by Boufeldja Benabdallah, president of the main mosque in Quebec City, who thanked Labeaume for pushing ahead with the project and avoiding a divisive debate.

Benabdallah says Quebec City’s Muslims have been working to have their own cemetery for 20 years. Community members seeking formal Islamic burials have had to send their dead to Montreal. The Quebec City Muslim cemetery is expected to open by the spring.

Source: National Post