MH17: Funeral Rites For Muslim Victims Carried Out In Orderly Manner

By Mohd Faizal Hassan KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 2 (Bernama) -- "Peace be upon you. Whoever you are, whatever your situation, we are only carrying out the duties entrusted to us. "Assist is to perfect your remains before burial. From Allah we come, to Allah we return . Al-Fatihah." These were among the words and prayers uttered by officers from the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (JAKIM) upon receiving the remains of Malaysian Muslim MH17 victims in arranging their funerals. According to standard operating procedures, once the remains of a victim is identified as belonging to a certain country in a process carried out at the Hilversum Military Medical Camp in the Netherlands, five important processes are undertaken. These include obtaining a death certificate, medical certificate, authorisation permit to repatriate the remains and a letter of agreement from the Dutch public prosecutor to allow the remains to be buried or cremated. The remains are then moved to the Monuta Innemee mortuary in S-Gravenhage, about 90km from Hilversum, for funeral rites according to their respective religion. Upon the arrival of the remains at the mortuary, a JAKIM team comprising funeral experts will be informed by the Malaysian Embassy in Netherlands, Malaysian Airlines (MAS) or appointed agency to handle Muslim victims. JAKIM's Islamic Development Division principal assistant director Mohd Ajib Ismail said the remains would then be placed in a room and then undergo an embalming process before they are cleansed and shrouded. "If the body is that of a male, the embalming will be done by a Monuta Innemee male staff. "Then we will ask the team for ritual cleansing to get ready with special clothes and equipment brought from Malaysia. "The head of the cleansing team will decide whether or not it is suitable to use water, based on the condition of the body at the time," he told Bernama. Mohd Ajib, who is also coordinator of the JAKIM team in the Netherlands, said if water is suitable, then the remains will be bathed. He said after this was done, the head of the team will begin enshrouding the remains with help from other members. Once that is done, the remains will be placed in a coffin by mortuary staff for the next process before they are kept in a special room. Among the processes that follow is beautifying the coffin and draping the Jalur Gemilang (national flag) over it. Funeral Prayers will then be done for the remains by the Grand Imam of the Putra Mosque in Putrajaya, Abd Manaf Mat, who is also part of the team, before the coffin is sent back to Malaysia. Meanwhile, Mohd Ajib said his team was frequently asked about the physical condition of the remains. He stressed that their job is to carry out the burial rites and would never talk about the condition of the bodies. "They are gone, there is no need to know of their condition when we received them, what's important is that we have completed the rites. "What everyone should do is pray for their wellbeing and that they are at peace," he said. Meanwhile, Armed Forces Chief Zulkifeli Mohd Zin said last Thursday in Putrajaya that a repatriation ceremony will be held at the KL International Airport (KLIA) on Tuesday, expected to involve the remains of nine victims, including two Dutch nationals. Last Friday, the first group of 20 remains involving 11 passengers and nine crew were sent back to Malaysia from Amsterdam on a special Malaysia Airlines flight. The remains of another victim was brought back last Saturday while those of three others on Sunday. The Boeing 777-200 aircraft carrying 283 passengers and 15 crew was on its way to Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam when it was shot down in eastern Ukraine on July 17. Fourty-three of the victims were Malaysians. --BERNAMA