Muhsin Hendricks, a pioneer figure called the first world open gay, was killed in South Africa.
The 57-year-old priest led the mosque in Cape Town for a safe haven for gay and other marginalized Muslims. He was killed on Saturday morning after a car traveled near the southern town of Gqeberh.
“Two unknown suspects with covered faces left the vehicle and began to fire multiple gunshots into the vehicle,” police said in a statement.
News about Hendrics death sent shock waves through the LGBTQ+ community and beyond, which encouraged the pouring of days from all over the world.
Julia Ehrt, Executive Director of International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersx Association (LLGA), invited the authorities to thoroughly explore “we are afraid of being a hate crime.”
“He supported and mentors so many people in South Africa and around the world in their path to reconcile with his faith, and his life was a testimony to healing that solidarity in communities can bring to the lives of all,” she said.
Hendricks was killed after allegedly served at a lesbian wedding, although it was not officially confirmed.
The details of the attack appeared through the security recordings that were divided on social media.
Shows a car that pulls and blocks the vehicle in which Hendricks traveled as he retreated from the curb. According to the police, the Imam was in the back seat.
The CCTV recording angle reveals what happened on one side of the road – the attacker exits the car, runs to a session vehicle and shoots several times through the rear passenger window.
Hendricks’ al-Ghurbaah Foundation, which runs the mosque Masjidul Ghurbaah in the Wynberg suburb in Cape Town, confirmed that he died in a targeted attack on Saturday morning.
But Abdulmugheeth Petersen, chairman of the Foundation Committee, appealed through the WhatsApp group to be patient, emphasizing the importance of protecting the Hendricks family.
Hendrics work challenged the traditional interpretations of Islam and advocated a compassionate, including faith.
The South African Constitution after Apartheid was the first in the world to protect people from discrimination because of their sexual orientation and in 2006, it became the first country in Africa to legalize a same -sex marriage.
But despite the successful LGBT community, gay people continue to face discrimination and violence. The country also has one of the highest killings in the world.
Hendricks came out as a gay in 1996, which shocked the wider Muslim community in Cape Town and elsewhere.
In the same year, he founded the inner circle, an organization that provides support and a safe space for Queer Muslims who want to reconcile their faith and sexuality before continuing to establish the inclusive mosque of the Masjidul Ghurbaah.
He was the subject of a documentary film 2022. Called Radikal, in which he said about the threats he faced: “The need to be authentic was greater than fear to die.”
Hendricks often spoke about the importance of inter -a -effective dialogue and the need to solve the issues of mental health and trauma faced by LGBTQ+ individuals in religious communities.
Last year, he said at the ILGA world conference in Cape Town: “It is important that we stop looking at religion as an enemy.”
The Reverend Jide Macaulay, an open Gay Anglican minister, described Hendrics’ death as “truly heartbroken.”
The British-Nigerian LGBTQ ACTIVISION FOR RIGHTS ACTIVISION HOUSE OF RAINBOW, an organization that supports homosexuals in Nigeria, where same-sex relations or public depiction of affection is illegal and pay tribute to the courage of Hendricks.
“Your leadership, courage and unwavering commitment to involvement religious communities have left an indelible mark,” he said.
Sadiq Lawal, a gay Muslim man who lives in Nigeria, said BBC that Hendricks made such an impact as he did “impossible possible” by saying the words: “I am Queer.”
“He is a mentor to many quer Muslims in Africa, especially in Nigeria, because of religious extremism,” he said.
“I’m still in shock and devastated.”
