Muhsin Hendricks, world's first openly gay imam, shot dead in South Africa

Muhsin Hendricks, considered to be the world's first openly gay imam (cleric who leads prayers in a mosque) was shot dead on Saturday 15 February near the southern city of Gqeberha in South Africa. Hendricks came out as gay in 1996.

He was spiritual counsellor and executive director of the Inner Circle — a mosque intended to be a safe haven for queer and marginalised Muslims. On Saturday, he was in a car with another person when a vehicle stopped in front of them and blocked their exit, according to police.

"Two unknown suspects with covered faces got out of the vehicle and started firing multiple shots at the vehicle," the Eastern Cape force stated. "Thereafter, they fled the scene, and the driver noticed that Hendricks, who was seated at the back of the vehicle, was shot and killed."

A police spokeswoman confirmed to AFP the authenticity of a video on social media that 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, and urged anybody with information to come forward.

The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association 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," executive director Julia Ehrt said in a statement.

Hendricks was involved in various LGBTQ advocacy groups, and ran the Al-Ghurbaah mosque at Wynberg, near his birthplace in Cape Town. The mosque provides "a safe space in which queer Muslims and marginalised women can practise Islam", its website states.

Hendricks had previously alluded to threats against him and was the subject of a 2022 documentary titled The Radical. He insisted that "the need to be authentic" was "greater than the fear to die".

His murder sent shockwaves through the LGBTQ+ community and beyond, with an outpouring of tributes.

South Africa's post-apartheid constitution was the first in the world to go against discrimination based on sexual orientation. In 2006, the nation became the first in Africa to legalise same-sex marriage.

However, according to police data, South Africa has one of the world's highest murder rates, with some 28,000 murders in a year up to February 2024.