Spain’s Muslim community is voicing concern over a new policy expected to come into force next year at the Muslim cemetery in Granada, where families will be required to pay an annual maintenance fee to retain burial rights.
According to a statement issued by Muslim community associations in Spain, Emucesa, the municipal company that manages Granada’s cemeteries, plans to introduce an annual fee of approximately €32, excluding tax, for each grave.
Payment of the fee will preserve the family’s burial rights, ensuring the grave remains reserved for the deceased and cannot be reassigned.
However, if the fee goes unpaid—or if no relatives can be identified—the grave could lose its identifying markers and eventually be reassigned. The statement notes that the deceased’s remains would not be exhumed but would instead be moved within the same grave to make room for a new burial. The process would be carried out gradually, beginning with the oldest graves.
Another significant change concerns the future of the cemetery itself. Once the site reaches full capacity, it will be reclassified as a memorial garden under the administration of the Patronato de la Alhambra, ending all future burials there.
The issue was addressed during Friday sermons in Granada’s mosques last week, where imams urged worshippers to contact cemetery administrators to update their records and regularize the status of their relatives’ graves.
The campaign aims to prevent families from unintentionally losing their burial rights because they were unaware of the new administrative requirements.
The greatest concern surrounds families living outside Granada—or even outside Spain—who may not receive information about the upcoming changes.
The statement therefore urges anyone with relatives buried at the cemetery to contact its management and provide key information, including the grave number, the deceased’s name, date of death and the contact details of a family representative.
