GQEBERHA, South Africa: Muhin Hendricks, who would be the first openly gay imam in the world, was shot dead near the South African city of Gqeberha, police confirmed on Saturday.
The authorities have not yet determined a reason for murder, but the LGBTQ + rights groups have urged an investigation into a possible hatred crime.
Muhhin Hendricks was traveling in a car with another person when a vehicle blocked his way to Bethelsdorp, a suburb of Gqeberha, formerly known as Port Elizabeth, the police announced.
“Two unknown suspects with covered faces came out of the vehicle and started to shoot the vehicle for several shots,” CAP oriental police said in a statement. “Subsequently, they fled the premises and the driver noticed that Hendricks, who was sitting in the back, was shot dead.”
A police spokesman has confirmed the authenticity of a video circulating on social networks that seems to show the targeted attack. The authorities have urged witnesses to manifest themselves.
The International Association of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Trans and Intersex (ILGA) condemned the murder and called for an in -depth investigation to find out if it was a crime of hatred.
“The Ilga World family is in depth at the news of the murder of Muhin Hendricks and calls on the authorities to investigate what we fear may be a crime of hate,” executive director Julia Ehrt said in a statement.
Born into a Muslim family in Cape Town, Hendricks married a woman and had children before gay in 1996. He then divorced and devoted his life to plead for LGBTQ + inclusion in Islam.
In 1998, he began to welcome informal rallies for Muslims LGBTQ + in his hometown, transforming his garage into a space where they could meet without fear of judgment.
After a friend shared an experience to hear an anti-gay sermon in a local mosque, Hendricks decided to establish a devoted place of worship. In 2011, he founded the Al-Ghurbaah mosque in CAP, which, according to his website, provides “a safe space in which queer Muslims and marginalized women can practice Islam”.
Hendricks, also the subject of the 2022 documentary The Radical, had previously talked about receiving threats because of his work.
South Africa has one of the highest murder rates in the world, with 28,000 killings recorded in the year preceding February 2024, according to police data.
The authorities have not yet confirmed if Hendricks’ murder was linked to his activism, but the investigations are underway.
