AGENCY
Cape town, Feb 16
World’s first openly gay imam was fatally shot near Cape Town, South Africa, on Saturday in a targeted killing.
Identified as Muhsin Hendricks, the imam was attending a wedding in Bethelsdorp, Gqeberha, on Saturday when he was shot dead. He was seated at the back of a car when another vehicle blocked it and two unidentified masked suspects opened fire.
Who was Muhsin Hendricks?
Muhsin Hendricks, 58, was an Islamic scholar who advocated for the inclusion of LGBT people in the religion. He was running the Al-Ghurbaah mosque at Wynberg where gay and marginalised Muslims were given a safe haven.
Born in 1967 in Cape Town, Hendricks was the grandson of an Islamic cleric and studied at the University of Islamic Studies in Pakistan. His ancestors were from Indonesia and India who were forcibly brought to Cape Town by Dutch colonialists as prisoners.
He had worked as an Arabic teacher and a fashion designer in the past. He tied knot with a woman in 1991 and they had three children. They got divorced in 1996, the same year he came out as gay at the age of 29.
Hendricks was in relationship with a Hindu man since 2006
Denouncing Hendricks’ killing, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association said, “The ILGA World family is in deep shock at the news of the murder of Muhsin Hendricks, and calls on authorities to thoroughly investigate what we fear may be a hate crime.”
Police said the motive behind the murder is yet to be ascertained.
