A gay imam who led LGBTQ-friendly services and performed same-sex marriages has been gunned down in what local Muslim leaders are calling a homophobic hate crime in Gqeberha, formerly known as Port Elizabeth.
Imam Muhsin Hendricks, whom the BCC called the world’s first openly gay imam, was shot and killed on Saturday after unknown assailants in a pickup truck parked behind a car in which he had been sitting, preventing his flight.
The BBC added:
The 57-year-old cleric ran a mosque in Cape Town intended as a safe haven for gay and other marginalised Muslims. He was killed on Saturday morning after the car in which he was travelling near the southern city of Gqeberha was ambushed.
“Two unknown suspects with covered faces got out of the vehicle and started firing multiple shots at the vehicle,” police said in a statement.
News of Hendricks’ death has sent shockwaves through the LGBTQ+ community and beyond, prompting an outpouring of tributes from across the globe.
South Africa’s News24.com reported:
The Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) in turn condemned the brutal murder saying that “while police are still investigating the motive, speculation suggests it may be linked to Hendricks’ views on same-sex relationships”.
“The sanctity of human life is a fundamental tenet of Islam,” the MJC said in a statement.
“We unequivocally condemn his murder and any acts of violence targeting members of the LGBTQ community or any other community.”
Islamic fundamentalists reject homosexuality and have been known to execute LGBTQ+ individuals in some countries.
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