Profiling the Dead
By Joe Kaufman and Jeffrey Epstein
FrontPageMagazine.com | September 1, 2006

One of the biggest concerns for prospective airline passengers is the
screening process of flight cargo. According to reports, only a small
percentage of cargo that is loaded onto planes is screened for
explosives. And of the cargo that is in fact screened, rarely does it
include large containers. The question needs to be asked: What if, in
our laxity, these containers became a preferred method of attack by
terrorists? And what if the contents of the containers being used for
the attacks were once living and breathing?

Just like with any other religion, Muslim funerals have their own
distinct customs and traditions. As stated in the 'Muslim Funeral
Guide for the residents of the Chicagoland,' the funerals include:
the preparation and washing of the deceased (Ghusl); the placing of a
shroud (Kafan) over the body; transportation from the funeral home to
the mosque for prayers; and transportation from the mosque back to the
funeral home. It is the movement of the body to and from the mosque
that is of concern.

According to the Funeral Home Administrator for a large facility based
in Orlando, Florida, the prayers that take place at the mosque are
fairly extensive. In addition, depending on how religious the family
is, the body may, instead of being cleansed at the funeral home, be
cleansed at the mosque. As well, in the Islamic tradition, bodies must
be buried within 24 hours of death. If the body has to be transported
to another state, or even another country, this certainly puts a
constraint on the process.

Funeral homes will go out of their way to satisfy their customers, with
respect to these needs and more. According to the Orlando facility,
"It depends what the family desires... [If they] wish to have a
cleansing ceremony, before the shipping out, so they know that the
appropriate religious measures have been taken, that's not a
problem... These days, it doesn't have to be one way or the other.
Generally, a funeral home is flexible in trying to accommodate
everybody's wishes. I mean, that's what we're here for."

In that flexibility, funeral home directors or administrators do not
have to supervise what happens inside of the mosque. And given the
sensitive nature of loved ones passing away, that is understandable.
However, if the intent of those within the mosque is to inflict harm on
others, this flexibility could be quite deadly.

Funeral homes take great pains to respect the remains of the dead. If
the body inside the casket is altered in any way - even removed and
replaced by something with similar weight - it is quite possible that
this will go unnoticed by the funeral home. That means that, if an
explosive were to be placed inside of the deceased's body, no one
would know.

Appalling as this may be, it is far from an unfounded notion. Just
this past June, two U.S. soldiers were found dead in Iraq, their bodies
rigged with explosives. Reports of the incident described the bodies
as being "booby-trapped."