Okaz/Saudi Gazette MADINAH — Several Madinah residents on Sunday spotted some uncovered graves near a bridge on the road leading to Abyar (wells) Ali area from where pilgrims going to Makkah for Haj or Umrah don their Ihrams. The residents asked the Madinah municipality to intervene quickly so as to fence the graveyard and protect the sanctity of the dead against any violations. The residents asked about the reasons why the cemetery was left unattended and said this negligence must be investigated. They said the recent rains in Madinah have wiped out a number of graves washing away the remains. Shihab Bukhari, a resident, said this phenomenon was repeated every time there were rains in the city. "The phenomenon of finding open graves has occurred on many times in Madinah during the rainy season. The municipality must do something about this," he said. Bukhari said the sanctity of a Muslim is of the same value whether he is dead of alive so it must be respected. "The graveyards must be fenced and protected against hampering by human beings and animals," he said. Mohammed Al-Harbe, another resident, agreed with him and said the municipality must take good care of the cemeteries cleaning and fencing them. Spokesman of the municipality Khaled Bin Miteb said the municipality has erected a signboard showing the number of the graveyard and the municipality to which it belonged.
