World’s first openly gay imam shot dead in Cape Town; had officiated lesbain wedding

On Saturday morning, 57-year-old Muhsin Hendricks was shot dead after a round of multiple shots was fired at the vehicle he was travelling in. His crime? Hendricks’ sexual orientation did not align with those subscribing to the conventional morals or ideologies. A pioneering figure in the LGBTQ community, Hendricks was dubbed as the world’s first openly gay Imam.

The cleric ran a mosque in Cape Town, and was killed after the car in which he was travelling was ambushed.

“Two unknown suspects with covered faces got out of the vehicle and started firing multiple shots at the vehicle,” said the police in a statement.

The attack, the footage

The attack has been captured in a security footage, which has also been shared on social media. The footage shows a car pulling up in front of Hendricks’ vehicle and blocking it. The imam, according to the police statement, was in the backseat when one assailant jumped out of his car, ran towards the ambushed vehicle and started firing multiple shots at the back passenger window. A few reports suggest that Hendricks was killed after he had officiated at a lesbian wedding.

South Africa, progressive country for gay rights?

Hendricks was travelling near the southern city of Gqeberha when the incident happened. The news has shocked the LGBTQ community for multiple reasons. Cape Town is intended to be a safe haven for gay and other marginalized communities. South Africa’s constitution was the first in the world to provide protection to people from discrimination due to their sexual orientation. In 2006, it became the first country in Africa to legalise same-sex marriage.

However, life is still not easy for those not conforming to conventional standards of sexual orientation. Notably, the country also has one of the highest murder rates in the world. As per Human Rights Watch, in South Africa, regardless of strong legal protections extended to members of LGBTQ communities, members continue to face violence and discrimination. In 2021, at least 24 people were reportedly murdered in bias-motivated attacks.

Tributes pour in

Tributes poured in from gay rights activists and members of the LGBTQ community, who called Hendricks’ contributions as significant and inspiring. It was in 1996 that he came out as gay, shocking and at the same time antagonizing the Muslim community in Cape Town.

The same year, Hendricks founded The Inner Circle, a platform and an organisation providing mental health support and guidance to queer Muslims seeking to reconcile their faith with their sexual orientation.

Hendricks also founded the all inclusive Masjidul Ghurbaah Mosque. An advocate of interfaith dialogue and the need to interpret religions in a far more inclusive spirit, Hendricks also was also passionate about the causes of mental health, discrimination faced by LGBTQ individuals and the trauma faced by them within religious communities.

In a 2022 documentary called The Radical, Hendricks shared about the life threats he faced. “The need to be authentic was greater than the fear to die,” he said. A statement that held true not only while he was alive but even in the face of death.

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