World’s ‘first openly gay imam’, Muhsin Hendricks, shot dead in South Africa’s Gqeberha

Considered the world’s 'first openly gay imam', Muhsin Hendricks was shot dead on Saturday near the southern city of Gqeberha, The Guardian quoted South African police as saying.According to the report, Hendricks was in a car with another person when a vehicle stopped in front of them and blocked their exit.“Two unknown suspects with covered faces got out of the vehicle and started firing multiple shots at the vehicle,” the Eastern Cape force said in a statement.“Thereafter they fled the scene, and the driver noticed that Hendricks, who was seated at the back of the vehicle was shot and killed.”Confirming to AFP the authenticity of a video on social media, a police spokesperson said the video purported to show a targeted killing in Bethelsdorp near Gqeberha, formerly known as Port Elizabeth.“The motive for the murder is unknown and forms part of the ongoing investigation,” police said.Hendricks used to run a mosque intended as a safe haven for gay and other marginalised Muslims.Meanwhile, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association has denounced the killing.“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 Guardian quoted the executive director, Julia Ehrt as saying in a statement.Announced himself as gay in 1996:Earlier in 1996, Hendricks, involved in various LGBTQ+ advocacy groups, came out as gay in 1996. By 1998, he started hosting meetings in his home city for LGBTQ+ Muslims, who treated him like their community imam. “I opened my garage, put a carpet down and invited people to have tea and talk,” he told the Guardian in 2022.By 2011, Hendricks bolstered his role as an imam figure by setting up a mosque space following a friend endured a local sermon condemning homosexuality. “I said, ‘Maybe it’s time we started our own space, so people can pray without being judged’.”Hendricks ran the Al-Ghurbaah mosque at Wynberg near his birthplace, Cape Town, which claims to provide “a safe space in which queer Muslims and marginalised women can practise Islam”.In 2022 documentary called The Radical, Hendricks alluded to threats against him. He added that he had been advised to hire bodyguards.Hendricks, an Arabic language teacher and fashion designer, was a Muslim. he married a woman, had children, then divorced before revealing his sexuality to his family after eight years following his father's death.With agency inputs.Catch all the Business News , Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.Business NewsNewsWorldWorld’s ‘first openly gay imam’, Muhsin Hendricks, shot dead in South Africa’s GqeberhaMoreLessFirst Published:16 Feb 2025, 04:09 PM IST