God's Waiting Room

Description: Taslim Funerals in London's East End is an undertaker's with a difference - they provide a burial service for the diverse Muslim community. With unique access, this moving documentary by film-maker Heenan Bhatti follows the team at Taslim as they deal with the cultural minefield that is burying Islam's dead. Sitting in the shadow of the East London Mosque is one of the UK's few dedicated Muslim Funeral Services. Established in 1950, Taslim Funerals takes on the complex job of catering for Britain's Islamic dead. From Somalis to Turks to Asians, they all turn to this family-run firm to deal with the religiously sensitive rituals of Muslim burial. Murder victims, dead foetuses and hospital deaths are all part of their working day and the company clocks up approximately 25 "clients" a week. But Taslim's owners take it all in their stride with a surprisingly upbeat and positive outlook. Whatever their origins, British Muslims have one thing in common: they want burials done as quickly as possible, just as Islamic tradition dictates. As such, the team are under this religiously-decreed time pressure to get hold of the dead body, wash and wrap it, with the administration of prayers, while also trying to deal with official red tape, such as getting the death certificate signed. As the team at Taslim walk a bureaucratic tightrope, God's Waiting Room gives a unique insight into how a religious minority deals with death in the face of the often conflicting laws of a host country.