Muslim cemetery designated in Hudson

After several decades of traveling outside Columbia County for burials and to visit the graves of deceased loved ones, a section of the Cedar Park Cemetery in the city has been designated for

After several decades of traveling outside Columbia County for burials and to visit the graves of deceased loved ones, a section of the Cedar Park Cemetery in the city has been designated for the Muslim community.

Hudson Public Works Superintendent Robert Perry, Mayor Rick Rector, and members of the local mosque, the Hudson Islamic Center, were present last Thursday for the unveiling of 135 plots reserved for the Muslim community located on the north side of the cemetery along Columbia Turnpike in the Cedar Park Cemetery. The city cemetery at 20 Columbia Turnpike is maintained by the city Department of Works.

Conversation about reserving the section began earlier this year after the death of SUNY Polytechnic Institute student and Hudson resident Fardush Sultana, who was buried in Muslim Cemetery in East Greenbush — nearly 40 miles and 45 minutes from Hudson by car.

Mayor Rick Rector asked members of the local mosque, including 2nd Ward Supervisor Abdus Miah, why there was no section designated for members of the Muslim community.

Mosque leaders met with Perry and Gail Grandinetti, clerk of the city Cemetery Department, to work out a plan.

“We’re very excited to announce the plans today,” said Rector, who helped designate the new plots.

Before the city’s action, Muslim community members had to travel to East Greenbush or other areas to bury their loved ones.

Mosque members raised $68,310 for more than 100 plots entirely through donations from the Muslim community, Miah said. The plots costs about $500 each, Perry said.