World’s first openly gay imam killed in South Africa
Muhsin Hendricks ran an inclusive mosque in Cape Town. (Getty)
Muhsin Hendricks, the world’s first openly gay Muslim imam, was found dead in South Africa after an ambush.
The cleric was killed on Saturday morning (February 15) after the car he was travelling in was ambushed near the city of Gqeberha, according to the BBC.
In a statement, police said: “Two unknown suspects with covered faces got out of the vehicle and started firing multiple shots at the vehicle.”
The imam ran a mosque in Cape Town that he intended to be a safe haven for gay Muslims. He was reportedly killed after leaving a lesbian wedding, which he officiated, but this had not been official confirmed.
CCTV footage from the incident shows a vehicle pulling up and blocking the vehicle Hendricks was in as it was pulling away from the curb.
According to police, the imam was sitting in the back seat when an unknown assailant jumped out of the car, ran to the ambushed vehicle, and then began shooting repeatedly into the back passenger window.
Julie Ehrt, executive director at an international LGBTQ+ organisation called the ILGA, has called on the police to investigate the incident thoroughly, which she fears “may be a hate crime”.
“He supported and mentored so many people in South Africa and around the world in their journey to reconcile with their faith, and his life has been a testament to the healing that solidarity across communities can bring in everyone’s lives,” she told the BBC.
Hendricks came out as gay in 1996, which shocked the Muslim community in Cape Town, leading him to found The Inner Circle, an organisation providing support and safe spaces for queer Muslims.
He then went on to establish the inclusive Masijidul Ghurbaah mosque in the Wynberg suburb of Cape Town, which he led until his death, and often spoke about the importance of faith to religious LGBTQ+ people.
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