A plan by the Beppu Muslim Church to open the first cemetery in the Kyushu region used exclusively for Islamic burials has encountered stiff opposition from local residents.
Islamic religious laws strictly forbid cremation and require deceased Muslims to be buried with traditional Islamic rites.
In Japan, where the vast majority of people are cremated, only a limited number of cemeteries offer proper burial grounds for the growing Muslim population. They exist in Hokkaido and the Kanto region, but there are none in Kyushu.
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