The Coronavirus Bill which proposed the cremation of all victims of the Coronavirus has been amended to respect the religious values of Muslims and Jews after successful lobbying by Member of Parliament (MP) Naz Shah.
Legislation to counter the effects of the viral COVID-19 in the UK came in the form of the Coronavirus Bill, which introduced new measures including cremation of victims of the viral outbreak.
Cremation goes against the fundamental religious tenets of both Muslims and Jews, who prefer to bury their dead. Naz Shah, who is Labour's member of Parliament from Bradford West, lobbied her fellow MPs to pass an amendment to this bill which would respect the religious values of Muslims and Jews throughout the UK and allow them to be buried instead of cremated.
The amendment was co-sponsored by Wes Streeting MP, Ilford South, Steve Baker MP, Wycombe, Mohammed Yasin MP, Bedford, Imran Ahmad Khan MP, Wakefield and Christian Wakeford MP, Bury South.
After gaining the support of over 100 MPs in today's proceedings at the British Parliament, the proposed amendment was passed, allowing Muslims and Jews to be able to bury their dead in accordance with their usual practice.
There are over 3 million Muslims and over 300,000 Jews in the UK who strongly opposed such measures after the viral outbreak. Several Muslim organisations also supported the proposed amendment, which has now been added to the bill.
In the aftermath of her successful efforts, Naz Shah MP tweeted:
Legislation to counter the effects of the viral COVID-19 in the UK came in the form of the Coronavirus Bill, which introduced new measures including cremation of victims of the viral outbreak.
Cremation goes against the fundamental religious tenets of both Muslims and Jews, who prefer to bury their dead. Naz Shah, who is Labour's member of Parliament from Bradford West, lobbied her fellow MPs to pass an amendment to this bill which would respect the religious values of Muslims and Jews throughout the UK and allow them to be buried instead of cremated.
The amendment was co-sponsored by Wes Streeting MP, Ilford South, Steve Baker MP, Wycombe, Mohammed Yasin MP, Bedford, Imran Ahmad Khan MP, Wakefield and Christian Wakeford MP, Bury South.
After gaining the support of over 100 MPs in today's proceedings at the British Parliament, the proposed amendment was passed, allowing Muslims and Jews to be able to bury their dead in accordance with their usual practice.
There are over 3 million Muslims and over 300,000 Jews in the UK who strongly opposed such measures after the viral outbreak. Several Muslim organisations also supported the proposed amendment, which has now been added to the bill.
In the aftermath of her successful efforts, Naz Shah MP tweeted:
I'm so relieved that the Government have listened to what we've said about religious burials for Muslim and Jewish people and have brought forward an amendment to address our concerns. I don't need to push my amendment to a vote. Thank you so much to everyone for your support!
— Naz Shah MP (@NazShahBfd) March 23, 2020