A majority of Lelystad’s city council supported investigating an extension of the general cemetery with a section for Islamic burials, according to the discussion at a committee meeting. The municipal executive is requesting €68,000 for the research, which would assess how much land Islamic religious communities and other interested parties want to buy and examine the ecological implications because the proposed area is part of the Nature Network Netherlands. Four mosques had requested a separate cemetery section in 2021, but the request was not properly processed by the municipality.

The PVV opposed the proposal in advance, arguing that Muslims can already be buried in the general cemetery, and said it would submit a motion at a forthcoming council meeting. Other parties expressed support, while the Party for the Animals called for further study of the location. The council’s final assessment is scheduled for 24 November. Lelystad currently has no provision for perpetual grave rest; alderman Emiel van der Herberg said that, if land is sold to mosques, the communities themselves would decide how to arrange it.