28-year-old Christian man’s funeral took a surprising twist at the Helsinki Malmi cemetery when the deceased’s Muslim relatives arrived at the grave and took the lead in the funeral. – Upon reaching the gravesite all of a sudden Muslim men jumped out from the thicket and replaced the Finnish pallbearers and the Imam began to lead the service, “the pastor, Jukka Simoila said.
The 28-year-old deceased became a Christian in December 2008 and got married last summer in a Christian ceremony. His father was a Muslim. The deceased died of serious illness in September and had hoped for a Christian funeral. The Christian man’s wife and mother-in-law had handled the funeral arrangements because the Muslim relatives did not want to be involved with it. The Muslims’ only wish was that the deceased would be buried, not cremated.
The Muslims’ actions at the funeral came as complete surprise to the Christians relatives. They stood shocked at the unexpected turn. An Imam came along with the Muslim men and began to read a prayer in Arabic. The Imam also swept the cross formulated out of sand by the chapel pastor, off the coffin. – People were just overcome with grief and wondering what was happening there. Their emotions were such, they were not able to react to the situation, but let it go, pastor Simoila said.
