May Mosques Or Other Buildings Be Constructed On A Land That Was Cemetery Before?

May mosques or other buildings be constructed on a land that was cemetery before?

Cemeteries are generally endowments; that is to say, they are allocated for public service for the purpose of burying deceased people. Unless there is an obligation, it is not permissible to misuse and change an endowment. With this respect, it is not permissible to allocate a place endowed as cemetery to another service as long as it can be used as cemetery. Moreover this place should be preserved as a cemetery although new corpses are not going to be buried there anymore. Selling a cemetery and transferring the bones of the deceased to another cemetery in order to construct building or to make use of it for similar purposes are not permissible (See Marghinani, al-Hidayah, IV, 448-450). However, in the events that public interest requires it as there are no other options, the land may be used for other purposes such as mosque, etc. by transferring the cemetery to another place .

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