Colombo. Every religion has different customs and rituals for human life and death. While respecting each other's religions, people also respect their customs. But in Sri Lanka, during the Corona period, the bodies of dead Muslims were cremated instead of being buried. However, WHO had said that Corona victims can be buried as per Islamic rituals.

The cabinet has issued an apology regarding the compulsory cremation policy during the Covid-19 pandemic, the government said in a statement. It said a new law will give the right to burial or cremation to ensure that the funeral customs of Muslims or any other community are not violated in future.

Traditionally, Muslims bury their dead facing Mecca. Sri Lanka's majority Buddhists are generally cremated, as are Hindus.

Muslim representatives in Sri Lanka welcomed the apology but said their entire community, which makes up about 10 percent of the island's 22 million population, was still in shock. "We will now sue two academics, Methika Vithanage and Channa Jayasumana, who were behind the government's forced cremation policy. We will also seek compensation," Muslim Council of Sri Lanka spokesman Hilmy Ahmed told AFP.