Muhsin Hendricks shot dead in South Africa
Cape Town: According to the media report, local police in South Africa shot and killed Muhsin Hendricks on Saturday. He was praised as the first Imam in history to come out as homosexual.
CNN reported, citing Eastern Cape Provincial authorities, that the authorities were looking into the death of 58-year-old Muhsin Hendricks in Bethelsdorp and that it was unknown what caused the murder.
Hendricks and a driver were inside a “gold-colored VW T-Roc” at Haley Place, Extension 24, Bethelsdorp, according to the statement, when a silver-colored Hilux double cab pulled up in front of them and prevented them from leaving.
According to the complaint, “Two unidentified individuals with masks exited the car and began shooting at the car repeatedly. The driver saw that Hendricks, who was sitting in the rear of the car, had been shot and died as they left the site.
Hendricks was the “first imam in the world to come out as gay” in 1996, according to a statement from the International Lesbian, Homosexual, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA World), an advocacy organization that CNN reported.
A statement released by ILGA World said, “ILGA World is shocked to learn about the assassination of Muhsin Hendricks, a South African Islamic scholar who has often been described as the world’s first openly gay Imam.”
Hendrick’s murder has “saddened” South Africa’s Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, which promised to “track and monitor that justice is dispensed” if it turns out that his killing was a hate crime.
CNN reports that Hendricks was the executive director of the Al-Ghurbaah Foundation, which he created in Cape Town.
According to the website of the Al-Ghurbaah Foundation, it is a “human rights organization that provides psycho-spiritual and psycho-social support to queer Muslims, helping them to reconcile Islam with their sexual orientation and gender identity.”
CNN also quoted the Muslim Judicial Council of South Africa (MJC), which said in a statement on Sunday that the “shocking killing” was “unequivocally” condemned.
“It has been suggested that Muhsin Hendricks’ opinions on same-sex partnerships may have served as the driving force for the murder.
The MJC stated, “We categorically condemn his murder and any acts of violence targeting members of the LGBTQ community or any other community, even though we have consistently maintained that Muhsin’s position is incompatible with Islamic teachings.”
A 2022 documentary called “The Radical” follows Hendricks as he founded a mosque for LGBTQ+ Muslims in Cape Town, South Africa, in the face of death threats, according to CNN.
