When Connecticut state health officials told Muslims in the city of Bristol that their dead must be laid to rest in concrete vaults, the community had to come up with an alternative that strikes a balance between abiding by the law and Islamic burial rites. State officials told members of Daar-ul-Ehsaan mosque and cemetery that their dead must be buried in vaults because of its proximity to a residential neighborhood. Muslims were concerned that the heavy equipment needed to move concrete vaults in the cemetery would affect the safety of existing grave sites. But after searching the Internet, they found lightweight plastic vaults that passed public health standards.
Using the plastic vaults, soil must be spread on the bottom so that the body is in touch with the earth in accordance with Islamic burial rites. Some Muslims complain that reconciling faith with the laws of the land is not always easy. Mosques are unable to perform the washing and shrouding rituals. Others just resort to pay a funeral home to rent a room where families gather to wash the deceased.