Gqeberha – Imam Muhsin Hendricks, 58, the world's first openly gay Imam, was gunned down in a hail of bullets on Saturday morning in Gqeberha, hours before he was reportedly scheduled to marry a lesbian couple.
The brazen assassination has sent shockwaves through the LGBTQIA+ community and sparked outrage, with many fearing the murder was a hate crime fuelled by prejudice and intolerance.
Hendricks' death was confirmed by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA World) in a statement released hours after the incident.
The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has committed to "track and monitor that justice is dispensed with" upon the receipt of any information that the murder was a hate crime.
The tragic incident occurred around 10:00 in Extension 24 in Bethelsdorp. Eastern Cape police spokesperson Captain Sandra Janse van Rensburg said Hendricks was a passenger seated in the backseat of a gold VW T-Roc parked in Haley Place when a silver Hilux double-cab bakkie approached the vehicle and blocked it from driving off.
Two unknown assailants, with covered faces, alighted from the bakkie and started firing multiple shots at the T-Roc. "Thereafter, they fled the scene, and the driver noticed that Hendricks had been shot and killed. The motive for the murder is unknown and forms part of the ongoing investigation," said Janse van Rensburg. The condition and the whereabouts of his driver are not known at this stage.
On Sunday afternoon, Lieutenant Colonel Siphokazi Mawisa declined to share more information on the driver’s whereabouts or condition and related information “as the investigation is ongoing”.
According to unconfirmed reports by mourners streaming to social media to express their condolences, Hendricks was apparently on his way to marry a lesbian interfaith couple after several local imams in the city had refused to marry them.
Triangle Project health and support services manager Sharon Cox believes there's a good chance the murder will be found to be a hate crime. "We await more information on the motive behind the tragic murder of Imam Mushin Hendricks. It is hard to imagine that this is going to be anything other than a hate crime fuelled by prejudice," she said.
Following the killing of Imam Muhsin Hendricks (58), his immediate family members and children have gone into hiding and are “keeping a low profile” in accordance with the deceased’s wishes.
Imam Hendricks, often described as the “world’s first openly gay imam”, was gunned down in an apparent hit in Bethelsdorp, Gqeberha, on the morning of Saturday, 15 February 2024. While speculation remains rife, the motive for his murder is unknown and investigations continue.
Regular threats
Speaking to Daily Maverick on Sunday, Moegsien Hendricks, the late imam’s cousin, said that Hendricks had long lived with regular death threats as well as vitriol directed at him on social media.
He had taken them seriously enough to have cautioned his children to “keep a low profile” and go into hiding should a tragic event such as the one that occurred on Saturday morning take place.
“We were always concerned about that [hate speech and death threats] as a family, but his unwavering commitment to being in service of people, young Muslim men and women, queer Muslims who wanted to practice Islam in a normal way, who wanted to not feel the shame and the guilt – he was committed to that and he stood for that.
“So, despite the threats, despite his own kids being concerned for him, he continued with the work that he felt was his purpose, his commitment. So as tragic as this is, there was always this threat hanging over his head that someone could kill or assassinate him,” said Moegsien.
The Guardian reported that Hendricks was 29 when he came out as gay to his mother. He was born into a Muslim family, had married a woman and had children, then divorced before revealing his sexuality to his family, eight years after his father died.
Moegsien said, “He was always saying he was not going to be deterred by the hate speech and the threats. He did, however, say to his kids that if something should happen to him, that they should lay low and that’s one of the reasons why the immediate family is not taking any calls from the media.”
Moegsien said his cousin’s mortal remains were still in Gqeberha and that an autopsy would be performed on Monday because of the circumstances of the imam’s death. Following the completion of that process, the body would be returned to Cape Town by the imam’s brother and cousin.
“If Muhsin was in Cape Town, and he passed away of natural causes and there was a death certificate that we could access, he would be buried on the same day before sunset. We could perform the Janazah [Islamic funeral prayer] in Gqeberha where he was murdered, but I think everybody is saying for closure for his kids and his family members it would make sense to bring the body back,” said Hendricks.
“As soon as the body gets to Cape Town, he will be buried.”
Asked if he had any message for the public, Moegsien told Daily Maverick, “I’ve seen a lot of media releases from clergy and they refer to him as Muhsin Hendricks or Mr Hendricks but I want to emphasise that Imam Muhsin is a qualified imam.
“He studied in Karachi. He has served as an imam and I think he is a valid person and so I think it is important that we also think of him as not just an activist standing for queer rights. He was an imam to many people and so, for me, that is an important title and affirmation of who he was.”
‘Muslim and gay’
In the time since the news of Hendricks’s death was reported, government departments and activists have decried and condemned his murder.
Activist Zackie Achmat shared a statement following the murder.
“Imam Muhsin Hendricks has been executed in the name of Islam. Muhsin was killed because he was Muslim and gay. His cowardly assassins have not yet shown their faces. They are part of a cult of death and hate. In my view, they are a dangerous minority bent on the destruction of people and institutions they brand as anti-Islam,” said Achmat.
“Muhsin cared for the community of believers because he loved humanity. He opened his heart, studied the Quran, Hadith and commentaries to become an imam for everyone but particularly for the queer community, not only in our country but across the world. Muhsin fought for the rights of queer Muslims to a family life, marriage and to be full citizens in their communities based on the Islamic principles.”
Achmat continued: “His executioners are not the majority of Muslims who care about every living being on earth, including every human person,” concluding that, “My condolences to every person who loved Muhsin and the many he cared for by giving his life. He is a true martyr for love, justice and peace.”
Asked to elaborate on his claim that Hendricks was executed in the name of Islam, Achmat told Daily Maverick that “in the same way that Donald Trump stokes the violence of white supremacists, transphobes, misogynists, Islamophobes and xenophobes, the leadership of the Muslim community has spread hate.”
“The climate of hate created by the fatwas of the Muslim Judicial Council and the Jamiatul Ulama creates fertile ground for small groups of fanatics who have attacked LGBTIQ+ people, other Muslims and Jewish people.
“Think back to the bombs and executions by Pagad and Qibla in the 1990s. Those who sow terror, hate and discord are a minority who use violence to silence the whole Muslim community. Our state must take action now before this minority gains a foothold. They will move beyond us queers to other targets,” he said.
“Regrettably, the SAPS, intelligence services and the courts fail everyone, but we must not give up. Our task is to fix the state for everyone,” Achmat continued.
“As political activists, all progressive people including queer activists must unify to resist hate and violence in our country, on our continent and across the world. The LGBTIQ+ communities must emerge from our ghetto and be an active part of the broader struggle for social, political, economic, cultural and religious justice.”
Council condemns killing
Moulana Yusuf Patel from the United Ulama Council of South Africa (UUCSA) called for restraint and caution, urging on social media that observers and the public “let law enforcement agencies investigate the incident, ensuring that justice is served based on evidence and due process, rather than on hearsay or rumours”.
In a statement, the council wrote, “As the circumstances surrounding the incident remain unclear, we urge the public and the media to avoid any speculative statements about the motive of this murder. Islamic teachings and traditions unequivocally prohibit same-sex relationships, an aspect the deceased is known to have been advocating.
“However, UUCSA condemns all forms of extrajudicial killings, as they undermine the rule of law and contribute to societal instability. We consequently call on everyone to act responsibly, avoid spreading unverified information, and refrain from making assumptions that have the potential to heighten tension and put others at risk, based on mere suspicion.”
‘Assault on LGBTQIA+ rights’
The Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disability also condemned the killing. In a statement, the department said, “Imam Hendricks is a renowned Muslim scholar and an avid advocate for LGBTQIA+ rights, having served a number of organisations championing the cause for equality along gender lines within the Muslim faith.
“Imam Hendricks became the first Imam in the world to come out as gay in 1996, and was since removed from his position for coming out. He is the founder of The Inner Circle, a global Muslim community advocating for a society free from discrimination based on religion, sexual orientation and gender identity.”
It continued “The motive behind the Imam’s brutal murder remains unclear, however, there are speculations that the crime might be a motivated hate crime and intolerance. This savage murder of Imam Hendricks is a stark reminder that the LGBTQIA+ community in South Africa continues to experience discrimination and hate crimes, despite our nation’s progressive legislation such as the Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Act (2023), enshrined in part to protect the rights of the queer community.”
The department called his murder “a direct assault on all movements, organisations and persons advocating for LGBTQIA+ rights in South Africa”.
Similarly, a Department of Justice and Constitutional Development statement called for “continued efforts in upholding our Constitutional values and ensuring a society where no one is unfairly discriminated [against] directly or indirectly on the grounds of race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, language and birth.”
ILGA World, a non-profit organisation that hosted Hendricks as a speaker at its 31st ILGA World Conference in Cape Town in November last year, said Hendricks became the first imam in the world to come out as gay back in 1996.
“The LGBTQIA+ sector has been rocked by this news. It's always so difficult when a life is cut short in any manner, but when fuelled by senseless reasons, it's unfathomable. What has also been exceptionally difficult has been fundamentalist rhetoric on social media sites. It has highlighted again the conservative and often hateful judgements that exist in our society."
Hendricks was the founder of The Inner Circle and in 2011 established the LGBTQ+ inclusive Masjidul Ghurbaah mosque. His life was chronicled in the documentary, The Radical.
Daily Maverick reported that he was visiting Bethelsdorp Extension 24 in Gqeberha when the gold Volkswagen T-Roc he was travelling in was ambushed in Haley Place by people in a Toyota Hilux double-cab bakkie at about 10 am. Two men got out and one fired several shots through the T-Roc’s passenger window. Hendricks was shot and killed.
