http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=86726&d=18&m=9&y=2006
Monday, 18, September, 2006 (25, Sha`ban, 1427)
Pickpockets at Funerals
Mahmoud Ahmad, Arab News
MADINAH, 18 September 2006 - Walking behind the bier in a
funeral procession is supposed to be a solemn occasion - a time when
participants should be thinking about their own final destination. But in a
growing trend across the Kingdom even those that mourn are not immune from the
long fingers of pickpockets.
As crowds carry the bodies of the dead to their graves,
thieves and pickpockets take advantage of the situation and rob unsuspecting
mourners of their cell phones and wallets. In fact the situation is so bad that
even major cemeteries such as the Al-Baqee in Madinah are not free of wanton
crimes.
Abu Muhsin remembers attending his cousin's funeral at the
Al-Baqee cemetery. "After the funeral prayer we carried the body to the
graveyard. Lots of people usually help carry the bier with an aim of seeking
reward from God and also to remember their own death," he said.
"I lost my cell phone and wallet before we reached the grave.
Someone came from behind and took my mobile phone and wallet without me even
knowing. I was busy carrying the body and left my pocket unguarded. I never
thought people would steal at times like this."
The Kingdom's cemeteries are the least of places one would
think thieves and pickpockets would target. It is a common sight to see people
at funerals reaching into their pockets to make telephone calls and then
noticing that they have been robbed.
Muslims participate in the burial of family members with an
aim of fulfilling the commands and recommendations outlined in Islam. People
flock to burials to remind themselves of the afterlife and that they too will
die one day. The wisdom behind this is to inculcate a sense of consciousness in
to a person that they too have a duty to God and therefore need to work toward
reforming and improving their character.
Jeddah resident Ibrahim Al-Ghamdi said, "It's a time to bring
about an awareness of God and that this life is transient. Okay you might think
of being careful and worrying about your pockets when at a crowded shopping
center or when you're at a football match but not in a cemetery when a body is
in front of you. It's beyond belief."
Saleh Al-Raddadi from Madinah said that he would forgive a
pickpocket if he caught him inside a market or any other crowded place. "I
could, however, never forgive someone doing this in a cemetery. These thieves
should at least have the dignity to respect the sanctity of the place and leave
the mourners alone," he said.
"To me, there is no difference between a thief caught inside
a cemetery or a thief caught inside the holy mosque in Makkah or Madinah. It is
enough that the family of the dead have lost a loved one and the last thing
they want is a thief robbing them," he said.
Al-Raddadi was once robbed at his brother's funeral at the
Al-Baqee cemetery in Madinah. "As we were taking the body into the grave
everyone was busy looking inside and handing bricks to close the grave. The
place was very crowded. It was then that I was robbed," he said. "A man was
just buried and sent to the hereafter. This should be a time of contemplation
for other people. Unfortunately there are those who do not care about other
people's feelings or the sanctity of such places. What a shame."
Muhammad Al-Yousuf says pickpockets operate in gangs and that
they target funerals where people are caught unawares.
Al-Yousuf believes that people caught stealing at funerals
should have their hands chopped. "We once captured a pickpocket of Asian origin
together with two of his friends who help and cover for him while he steals.
The guy usually robs and leaves the crowd while the other two continue to stay."
Al-Yousuf added, "If they don't get a chance to rob
something, they wait until the body has been buried because then most people
would be looking at the grave in tears. It's a shame that people can stoop so
low."
He said thieves were often caught at funerals and were
usually handed over to the authorities.
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