According to Islamic traditions, the dead should be buried as soon as possible, if not immediately.
Speaking at the Kahramanmaras cemetery this week, the deputy head of Turkey’s religious affairs directorate described the difficulties in burying bodies recovered from the rubble, adding that rituals sometimes must be adapted to take account of their condition.
“No one should think that what is needed is not being done. Look here: our friends did about 10,000 burials. It is not possible to spend hours on each one, so the process is done faster.” official, Burhan Islayen said in an interview with Turkish broadcaster A Haber.
Since the quake, authorities have grappled with the problem of exhuming bodies and preparing them for burial, said Bulent Tekbiyokoglu, the governor of the city of Kırıkkale, who was visiting Pajarsık.
Ghasals, who prepare the bodies for burial as per Islamic rituals, were working in turn as hundreds of bodies were piled up, he said.