Muhsin Hendricks, world’s ‘first openly gay imam’, shot dead [VIDEO]

Police are searching for two suspects involved in the murder of a  58-year-old gay imam from Cape Town.

Muhsin Hendricks was gunned down in a hail of bullets on Saturday morning in Gqeberha, hours before he was to allegedly marry a lesbian couple.

Shooting

Eastern Cape police spokesperson Captain Sandra Janse van Rensburg told The Citizen that the case was reported at Saps Bethelsdorp.

“It is alleged that at approximately 10 am the deceased,  Imam Moegsien Hendricks and a driver was inside a gold-coloured VW TRoc in Haley Place, Extension 24, Bethelsdorp when a silver-coloured Hilux double cab stopped infront and blocked them from driving off. 

“Two unknown suspects with covered faces got out of the vehicle and started firing multiple shots at the vehicle. Thereafter they fled the scene, and the driver noticed that Hendricks who was seated at the back of the vehicle was shot and killed, van Rensburg said.

WARNING: Not for sensitive viewers, please exercise caution

Watch the video of the shooting

A man has been shot dead in Gqeberha in what appears to be a hit.#CrimeWatch pic.twitter.com/lkZuoZpANi

— Yusuf Abramjee (@Abramjee) February 15, 2025

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Motive

Van Rensburg said the motive for the murder is unknown and forms part of the ongoing investigation.

“Police sought information from the community that can help to trace the murder.  Anyone with the information can contact SAPS Crime Stop number on 08600 10111 or alternatively report to the nearest police station.  All information is confidential, and callers may remain anonymous.”

Killing condemned

The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) World condemned the killing.

The non-profit organisation that hosted Hendricks as a speaker at its 31st ILGA World Conference in Cape Town in November last year, Hendricks became the first imam in the world to come out as gay back in 1996.

“ILGA World is shocked to learn about the assassination of Muhsin Hendricks, a South African Islamic scholar. Although the investigation is ongoing and police claim that the motive for the murder is unknown, unconfirmed reports claim that he was in town to marry a lesbian couple.” Julia Ehrt, executive director at ILGA World, said.  

“The ILGA World family is in deep shock at the news and calls on authorities to thoroughly investigate what we fear may be a hate crime,” said Ehrt.

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‘Horrified’

The organisation OUT LGBT Well-Being said it was “horrified by the assassination” of Hendricks.

OUT LGBT Well-Being described Hendricks as “a proud gay imam from Cape Town” who provided a refuge for many queer Muslims struggling to reconcile their faith and identity.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) Cape Town Regional Committee also condemned Hendricks’ murder.

Committee chairperson, Roberto Quintas described Hendricks as a well-respected activist and religious cleric who was a stalwart in the LGBTQIA+ community.

“For this alleged hate crime to take place over the Valentines Day weekend, a time where love is celebrated across world, and at a wedding, is an added horror and indictment of the hate and violence experienced by LGBTQIA+ communities in South Africa and elsewhere in the world.

“Too many crimes against vulnerable LGBTQIA+ community members are committed in hate, whether it be the so called “corrective rape” of lesbians in townships, the beating and murdering of transgender persons, and now this alleged hit on a high profile religious leader,” Quintas said.

Gay Imam

Muhsin Hendricks became the first imam in the world to come out as gay back in 1996, the same year when he founded the organisation The Inner Circle.

A long-standing activist who has worked with interfaith communities around the world, he has done independent research on Islam and sexual diversity.

He recently founded the Al-Ghurbaah Foundation (the strangers) in Cape Town, where he served as executive director, and was also the administrator of the Compassion-centred Islam (CCI Network) for inclusive scholars and religious leaders.

Al-Ghurbaah supports the LGBTQI+ and has programmes that help Muslims with their sexuality and their faith.

Mosque

In 2011, Hendricks bolstered his role as an imam figure by setting up a mosque space after a friend endured a local sermon condemning homosexuality. “I said, ‘Maybe it’s time we started our own space, so people can pray without being judged’.”

Hendricks, the subject of a 2022 documentary called The Radical, had previously alluded to threats against him.

Born into a Muslim family, Hendricks married a woman, had children, and later divorced before coming out to his family at the age of 29.

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