SAINT-APOLLINAIRE, Que. – Residents of a town near Quebec City have rejected a plan to establish the region’s first Muslim cemetery by a vote of 19 to 16.
Voters were deciding whether or not to allow a zoning change for the proposed site in Saint-Apollinaire, 35 kilometres southwest of Quebec City.
READ MORE: 49 people to decide whether Quebec City’s Muslims get their own cemetery
The plan for the cemetery was developed after January’s deadly mosque shooting, but the issue was sent to a referendum after enough people came forward to oppose the project.
Opponents of the project said Muslims should be buried in Islamic sections of existing cemeteries.
READ MORE: Not enough Muslim cemeteries in Quebec, community struggles to bury dead: immigration specialist
But Quebec City Muslims said their community deserves the same rights as all other religious groups, which have their own burial grounds.
Thirty-six of 49 registered voters cast ballots. One was rejected.