Late Muhsin Hendricks

Tragedy has struck the global LGBTQ+ community with the death of Muhsin Hendricks, a pioneering figure known as the world’s first openly gay Imam.

Hendricks, who was affectionately nicknamed the “world’s first openly gay Imam,” was a prominent advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and inclusivity within the Islamic community.

He was killed on Saturday morning near the southern city of Gqeberha, on his way back from officiating a lesbian wedding at Bethelsdorp.

Gathered reports and a CCTV footage shared on social media correlated that the car in which the 57-year-old cleric travelled was blocked off by another as he left the city, then an assailant ran through while firing multiple shots at the back passenger window where the Imam reportedly sat.

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

The news of Muhsin Hendricks death hit the LGBTQ+ community hard, especially for his lifetime dedication to fostering peace and creating a safer world for gays who religion shunned.

Hendricks who came out as gay in 1996, has been threatened multiple times for challenging the traditional teachings of Islam and preaching for a more compassionate and inclusive faith.

His perseverance led him to establishing the Hendricks’ Al-Ghurbaah Foundation, which managed the affairs of his Masjidul Ghurbaah mosque in the Wynberg suburb of Cape Town. He also founded the Inner Circle, an organisation which supported queer Muslims and provided a safe space for them to reconcile their faith and sexuality.

Tributes from across the globe has found its way to his establishments in South Africa.

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