Can A Non-Muslim Be Buried In A Muslim Cemetery Or Vice Versa?

Can a non-Muslim be buried in a Muslim cemetery or vice versa?

Burying a person to a cemetery where his coreligionists are buried is a general practice. This is because every religion has its own funeral practices and procedures. It is important to bury Muslims away from the members of other religions in order to sustain some practices of Islamic tradition such as burial of a deceased person by being washed and enshrouded, grave visit, and praying for the deceased person; and to keep religious culture alive in this field . For this reason, Muslims have been sensitive on this issue throughout the history and paid due attention not to mix graves of Muslims with that of other religions. However, if there is not a cemetery reserved for his coreligionists and it is not possible to transfer it to another place, a non-Muslim who lives and dies among Muslims may be buried in a suitable part of Muslim cemetery . Likewise, if a Muslim dies among a non-Muslim community and there is no Muslim cemetery to bury him, his body may be buried in a suitable part that is away from other graves of a non-Muslim cemetery (al-Fatawa al-Hindiyyah, I, 175). However, Muslims who live as a minority should exert effort for the allocation of a cemetery for them in the country they live.

Source: Presidency Of Religious Affairs The Turkey, High Board of Religious Affairs FATWA