The Selangor mufti's latest edict barring the cremation of bodies is illogical. First, it is important to clarify whether the mufti referred to Muslims only or to all in general. This is unclear but I will attempt to cover all.

For non-Muslims, cremation of bodies has been a long established method of the disposal dating back to the ancient civilisations of India and the Roman empire. More recently, other religions including Christianity, have embraced it as an option.

Indeed, when my father, who was a distinguished doctor and a Christian, recently passed on, he was cremated according to his long established wish. So, it appears that for non-Muslims, cremation is certainly not an issue in the main.

For Muslims, burial within 24 hours of death with the deceased facing in the direction of the Holy Land is the preferred method though not the rigid rule. It is possible if there are no long journeys to be undertaken to return the body to the home land.

I have had many Muslim friends (and their relatives) who were buried beyond the 24-hour period but this does not make them unholy or unclean. The tradition for burial within 24 hours is probably related to health factors and the geography of Saudi Arabia from where Islam originated.

In times of major calamities such as the tsunami disaster, men have come together irrespective of their religious or political beliefs or ethnicity in an unprecedented show of human solidarity. They have worked relentlessly in the tragic conditions for the relief of the suffering.

Mass burials or cremation of unidentified corpses are the right things to do in order that public health measures are maintained.

The last thing we need now is a spanner in the works in the manner of some religious or political prohibition which further prevents and delays the rehabilitation of those affected.