CAPE TOWN, South Africa — A man widely recognized as the first openly gay Muslim imam has been killed in a targeted shooting in South Africa, raising concerns about a possible assassination linked to his advocacy for LGBTQ+ inclusion in Islam.
Muhsin Hendricks was shot while seated in a vehicle in Gqeberha on Saturday, when two masked individuals in a pickup truck approached him. Surveillance footage captures one of the assailants exiting the vehicle and firing several shots into Hendricks’ car through the side window. Thankfully, Hendricks’ driver managed to escape unharmed.
Although police have yet to identify a motive for the shooting, political entities and LGBTQ+ groups are asserting that Hendricks was deliberately targeted due to his founding of a mosque in Cape Town that welcomes gay Muslims and advocates for the acceptance of LGBTQ+ individuals within Islam. Homosexuality is traditionally condemned in Islamic texts.
The Ministry of Justice in South Africa announced they are looking into accusations suggesting that Hendricks was a deliberate target for extermination.
Hendricks enjoyed international recognition, having addressed the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) conference in South Africa the previous year. Julia Ehrt, the executive director of ILGA, expressed profound shock over his murder, calling it potentially a hate crime, and urged authorities to conduct a comprehensive investigation. “He supported and mentored so many people in South Africa and around the globe in their journey to reconcile with their faith,” Ehrt added.
The ILGA also highlighted Hendricks’ struggle against those seeking to shut down his mosque, which they labeled the “gay temple.”
The Democratic Alliance, recognized as South Africa’s second-largest political party, stated that the details surrounding the murder imply it was a professionally orchestrated assassination.
In a past interview with a local newspaper in 2022, Hendricks spoke of feeling targeted by various fatwas—legal rulings issued by the Muslim Judicial Council of South Africa. These fatwas reaffirmed the prohibition of same-sex relationships while also suggesting that gay Muslims who abstain from sexual actions should still be embraced at mosques.
Hendricks was the focus of a documentary released the same year entitled “The Radical,” where he recounted receiving threats yet expressed that the desire to be authentic outweighed his fear of death. The film highlighted the narratives of young gay Muslims who found solace in Hendricks’ mosque as a safe space to practice their faith without compromising their identities.
The Muslim Judicial Council of South Africa released a statement condemning Hendricks’ murder and any violence directed towards LGBTQ+ individuals, despite their historical disagreements with his interpretations of Islamic doctrine.
Raised in a conservative Muslim household, Hendricks initially married a woman but later divorced, publicly coming out as a gay imam in the mid-1990s. He established support networks and a mosque for gay Muslims through his Al-Ghurbaab Foundation, identifying himself as “the world’s first openly queer imam.”
“I felt compelled to do something about it,” he stated, reflecting on the challenges faced by queer Muslims in reconciling their faith with their sexual orientation. “And I thought, for me to help would probably be to be authentic with myself and come out. I believe it’s possible to be queer and Muslim or queer and Christian.”
In a heartfelt tribute on their official Facebook page, the Al-Ghurbaab Foundation praised Hendricks as “a great father and a guardian of many. Continue resting with angels.”
