Introduction

Authored by Leila Malow in 2015

The presence of Muslims in Minnesota can be traced back as far as the 1880s.¹ While the history of Muslims in the state is longstanding, this population remained relatively small until the 1990s with the arrival of thousands of Somali refugees. Today, Muslims represent a significant and growing part of Minnesota’s religious landscape. As a result, more organizations and institutions have been created to serve the needs of this community. One such need that has grown with the community is that of funeral and burial services. Among the ways that Muslims have set down roots in Minnesota, truly making a home here, has involved finding places to bury their loved ones. Muslims have had to navigate American, predominantly Protestant Christian, cultural norms regarding death as they have sought to practice traditions of death, dying and mourning in Minnesota.