Muhsin Hendricks, widely regarded as the first openly gay Muslim imam, was shot and killed on Saturday in the South African city of Gqeberha in what many believe was a targeted attack due to his progressive teachings.
Hendricks was ambushed while sitting in a car, as two masked men in a pickup truck approached. Security footage captured one of the attackers exiting the vehicle, running to Hendricks’ car, and firing multiple shots through the side window before fleeing the scene. Authorities have yet to determine a motive, but LGBTQ+ organizations and political figures suspect it was an assassination linked to his advocacy for LGBTQ+ inclusion in Islam.
A well-known international speaker, Hendricks had founded a mosque in Cape Town that welcomed gay Muslims and worked through his Al-Ghurbaab Foundation to support LGBTQ+ individuals struggling to reconcile their faith and identity. His work drew both support and criticism, with some calling for the closure of his mosque, which they labeled the “gay temple.”
The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) condemned the killing, with executive director Julia Ehrt urging authorities to investigate it as a possible hate crime. South Africa’s Justice Ministry has also launched an inquiry into claims that Hendricks was the target of an assassination.
The Democratic Alliance, South Africa’s second-largest political party, called the killing a “professional hit,” while the Muslim Judicial Council of South Africa—though maintaining that Hendricks’ views were incompatible with Islamic teachings—firmly denounced the murder and all acts of violence against the LGBTQ+ community.
Hendricks, who publicly came out as a gay imam in the 1990s, had dedicated his life to advocating for the inclusion of LGBTQ+ Muslims, believing that faith and identity could coexist. Following his death, his Al-Ghurbaab Foundation paid tribute, calling him “a great father and a guardian of many.”
