By: Ezra Ashkenazi
Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti is the founder of the Jerrahi Order of America mosque in Chestnut Ridge. The leader and founder of the mosque passed away at the age of 92 in February of 2018. A few days later he was buried behind the mosque, without many people outside of the mosque and officials knowing. However, in May of this year, the mosque used imported Turkish marble to create an extravagant monument in the Imam’s honor. They also installed a bench right next to it.
According to a New York Post article, the monument has a famous saying engraved into it, it says, “The most beloved of Allah’s servants are those who engender Allah’s love in his servants and their love in Allah.” Although a burial site is meant to be where the dead rest in peace, there has been no peace regarding the private burial site. The people who are opposed to this burial are led by a former FBI agent, and their main claim is that backyard graves are a public health risk and that the officials should have never approved the burial to be done.
The ex FBI agent’s name is Hilda Kogut, and she is also the chairwoman of Citizens United to Protect Our Neighborhoods. She is leading the opposition to the burial and recently said, “I don’t think that an incorporated village where people live next door to one another on small or large parcels of land should allow the burial of human remains on properties.” She also called the town policy a “Shock to the system.” After seeing the backlash of the town residents, the officials claimed that they in fact did not approve the burial back in 2018, and that the mosque “did it against our respectful wishes.”
The officials said that they tried to verbally prevent the burial, but they had no legal authority to shut down the burial. The new leader of the mosque, Yurdaer Dognata, said that his congregation followed, “local safety codes and health regulations and used a traditional casket. It was a green burial and there were no chemicals used. The grave site was approximately six feet deep. A member of our community who is a licensed contractor performed the ground preparations.” The Mayor of the town, Mayor Presti, hopes to soon draft a law to prevent backyard burial. However, the buried body of the late leader of the mosque cannot be moved.
(Ezra Ashkenazi is currently an intern in the Jewish Voice Student Journalist Initiative)
