The first publicly murdered gay Muslim Imam in South Africa prompts assassination
Cape Town, South Africa (AP) – A man believed to be the first to be publicly gay Muslim imam was shot dead in a South Africa car because many were assassinated for their doctrine.
Muhsin Hendricks was killed Saturday after being buried in a pickup truck by two men in a pickup truck in the southern city of Gqeberha on Saturday. Police said the man suspected of killing covered his face. Security video of the shooting showed one of them jumped out of the vehicle, ran to Hendricks' car, and shot the pistol several times through the side window.
Police have not determined the motive for the killing, but political parties and LGBTQ+ groups say Hendrix’s goal is because he opened a mosque in Cape Town for gay people and called for members of the LGBTQ+ community to welcome into Islam. Islamic religion prohibits homosexuality.
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South Africa's Justice Ministry said it is investigating the claim that Hendrix was the target of assassination.
Hendricks is internationally known and spoke at the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Bisexual Association Conference held in South Africa last year.
The Ilga family “was shocked by the news of the murder of Muhsin Hendricks and called on authorities to thoroughly investigate the hate crimes we fear.” “He has been in South Africa and many people around the world Supported and guided their faith.”
Hendricks said hendricks talked about how some people called for the closure of his mosque and branded it as a “gay temple.”
“The nature of the killings strongly implies professionals,” said South Africa's second largest political party.
Hendricks publicly issued publicly as a gay imam in the mid-1990s and established a support network and later a gay Muslim mosque. He advocated joining through his al-ghurbaab foundation and called himself “the world's first publicly queer imam.”
“I felt compelled to do something about it when I watched the strange way of negotiating this dilemma between Islam and their sexual orientation and identity,” he said. “And I think, to me, come on. Say, it might be that I am keeping myself real and coming out. I think it is possible to be queer, Muslim, queer and Christian.”
In a message on its official Facebook page, the Al-Ghurbaab Foundation said that Hendricks is “a great father to many and a guardian of many. Continue to rest with the angels.”
The South African Muslim Justice Council said that although it has been saying that Hendrix’s position is incompatible with Islamic teachings: “We explicitly condemn his murders and any violence against members of the LGBTQ community or any other community.”
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