Religious discrimination and public policies: “Muslim burial plots” in Ghent

The goal of this local initiative is to identify through partici-pative, long term observation (1995-2005) that has mediation as its starting point, to try and understand the methods of interaction between the Muslim communities and the local services and authorities, with regard to the needs of the Muslim population on the question of burials. It was necessary to perceive and analyze how the Muslim groups continued to evolve in time and how the city of Ghent and the services concerned reacted (or not) to the groups or the actors whom they recognized as legitimate partners in this dialogue.