The Muslim Council of Britain welcomes the High Court ruling which backs the right to ask for post-mortems to be carried out by scan rather than cutting open the body in what is known as an ‘invasive autopsy’.
The MCB has been campaigning on this for several years as regular post mortems delay the burial of the deceased and require the body to be cut open, whilst Islamic traditions require immediate burial of the body without invasive operations.
Dr Shuja Shafi, Secretary General of the MCB, said, “This is good news for Muslim and Jewish communities whose religion requires immediate burial of the deceased, without any undue interference or impediment to the body. The High Court ruling is a step towards ensuring there is no further strain on families who wish to bury their loved-ones immediately, at what is an already difficult and trying time”.
The Muslim Council of Britain wrote a letter of support to the Royal Court of Justice, stating, “This case is one of general public importance, in particular to the religious community in Britain. Muslim families who suffer bereavement share the religious concerns of Jews and members of other faiths. These principal concerns are that burial should take place as soon as practicable after death and that there should be no desecration of the body.”
See the letter of appreciation received from the Lawyer of the case MCB sent its support too.