Muhsin Hendricks, believed to be the first imam — the prayer leader of a Muslim congregation — to come out as gay was shot to death Saturday in South Africa.
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Hendricks, 58, was killed near the city of Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape province, multiple sources report. Some identify the site as the nearby town of Bethelsdorp.
Hendricks was in a car with a driver when another vehicle stopped in front of it about 10 a.m. and blocked Hendricks’s car, said a statement from Eastern Cape police. “Two unknown suspects with covered faces got out of the vehicle and started firing multiple shots at the vehicle” in which Hendricks and his driver were seated, the statement continued. “Thereafter they fled the scene, and the driver noticed that Hendricks who was seated at the back of the vehicle was shot and killed.”
“The motive for the murder is unknown and forms part of the ongoing investigation,” the police added. Hendricks’s associates in the LGBTQ+ community, along with allies, fear he was targeted for being gay and for his activism.
“The nature of the killing strongly suggests a professional hit,” said the Democratic Alliance, South Africa’s second-largest political party, as reported by CNN.
Hendricks came out in 1996, according to ILGA World (the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association). He founded several organizations to serve LGBTQ+ Muslims, including the Inner Circle, a support group and later a mosque for LGBTQ+ Muslims; the Al-Ghurbaah Foundation, which provides support services and where he was executive director, and was the administrator of the Compassion-Centered Islam Network for inclusive scholars and religious leaders. Islam, whose followers are known as Muslims, is not generally a welcoming faith for LGBTQ+ people, but there are exceptions.
“The ILGA World family is in deep shock at the news of the murder of Muhsin Hendricks and calls on authorities to thoroughly investigate what we fear may be a hate crime,” the group’s executive director, Julia Ehrt, said in a press release. “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. Our condolences go out to all who have been touched by his presence in all these years.”
In November, Hendricks spoke at the ILGA World Conference. “To me, it is important that we stop to look at religion as the enemy,” he said there. “Religion is probably one of the main things that has created mental health issues and trauma within our communities, but at the same time we have narratives of queer people of faith who are talking about how religion has actually saved and healed them. But what kind of religion is that? It’s that religion where we, queer people, can disconnect from those parts that are extremist and that don’t speak to inclusivity and compassion.”
The South African Human Rights Commission issued a statement saying it “strongly condemns this act of violence and calls on law enforcement authorities to conduct a thorough and expeditious investigation to determine the motive behind his killing. Should it be confirmed that Imam Hendricks was targeted for his advocacy in support of the LGBTQI+ community, this crime would highlight the urgent need for the full and effective implementation of the Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Act.” The commission “will closely monitor the police investigation and will have a watching brief in any eventual trial,” the statement concluded.
The Muslim Judicial Council of South Africa condemned the killing, even though it does not affirm LGBTQ+ people. “It has been alleged that the killing may have been motivated by hatred towards Muhsin Hendricks due to his views on same-sex relationships,” the council said in a statement on social media. “While the MJC has consistently maintained that Muhsin’s position is incompatible with Islamic teachings, we unequivocally condemn his murder and any acts of violence targeting members of the LGBTQ community or any other community.”
Hendricks’s life and work were chronicled in a 2022 documentary, The Radical. He “grew up in a conservative Muslim family and married a woman,” CNN notes, then ended the marriage when he came out. In the film, he said he had received death threats, but “it just didn’t bother me. The need to be authentic was greater than the fear to die.”
