Islamic Cemetery Stays

Scammer

Banned
Sidney, NY After receiving a lot of attention, and criticism, the Town of Sidney is no longer asking a religious group to move a cemetery on its property.

As Action News reporter Matt Markham tells us, this may not be the end of a debate that has divided the town.

Sidney's burial battle rests on a hill above Wheat Hill Road near Sidney Center. A Muslim group owns the property and has a center there. It also has two members buried on the site.

Town government asked the group to dig up those graves. It said the property was not zoned for burials.

But now, the town attorney sent this letter to the religious group saying "no action will be taken by the Town of Sidney in this matter."

"We expected that. We knew they never had any legal basis for suing us," said Hans Hass, spokesperson with the Osmanli Naksibendi Hakkani order.

The issue arose over questions about what would happen if the Muslim group ever left this property. If it was abandoned, the town would pick up the cost of maintaining it as a cemetery.

But, the town attorney found that a religious organization like this one is beyond the town's jurisdiction. Bob McCarthy says he was just looking out for the people of the town.

"That's my job. My job is to protect the taxpayer and to keep as much property on the rolls as I can," said McCarthy, Sidney town supervisor.

McCarthy says he is the real victim in this issue, and that religion never had anything to do with it.

"Most people haven't had very nice things to say about it. Nobody has mentioned any religious group -- this is money, just like everything else," McCarthy said.

Still, the organization wants a more concrete answer from the town.

"We want them ... to clarify in writing what the legal status of our cemetery is. We know its perfectly legal, but they have to say that," Hass said.

Hass also says he wants an official apology from the town -- leading to the next chapter in a debate that has conjured up strong emotions in a small community.

Hass tells us he planned to ask for that apology at a Sidney town board meeting Thursday evening.
 
Top