The Social and Cultural Dimensions Associated with Death in Muslim Communities, a Case Study Khartoum City

Abstract

In Arab universities, sociologists rarely discuss the sociology of death. By studying social and cultural variables along with subjective and objective meanings of death, this paper contributes to filling this gap in research on death in a Sudanese urban area. Furthermore, the study examines the relationship between the burial of the dead and the time and place of their burial, social status, relatives, and religious affiliation as they relate to their burial. A major objective of the research is to explore the social and cultural dimensions of death in Sudanese communities. Data were collected using interviews and observations in the field using the descriptive method. Death is more of a social than a biological fact; therefore, the general findings of this research are about declaration of death, and what it implies about social cohesion. Burial and social acts following death are acts that express social meanings, and further, indicate how biological death has occurred. Based on variables such as social status, family relationship, and religious affiliation, it can be seen that the deceased person and/or family holds these beliefs.