The Supreme Council for Islamic Fatwa has changed a decision they made eight years earlier, now declaring that it is not permissible to build parks and other recreation areas on burial grounds.

The new ruling on decommissioning muslim burial grounds, passed on June 24, was published on their website today.

Quoting from the Quran, the fatwa affirms the elevated status of humans over all other creations. The fatwa highlights that hadith of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) indicate that human dignity is not limited to life, but must be upheld even after death.

It states that exhuming a body and relocating it is a disrespect to the deceased, as per hadith.

As such, it will not be permissible to build parks and recreational facilities on decommissioned burial grounds, it stated.

Although the Fatwa Council's new ruling states this, their 2017 decision on reusing dilapidated burial grounds for community purposes differed.

Then, the council said that dilapidated burial grounds in Male' and other islands can be respectfully dug, with any remains found there respectfully relocated to another cemetery. The land can then be used for community purposes, they said then.