Mushin Hendricks, who is believed to be the world’s first openly gay imam, was shot dead over the weekend in what appears to be a targeted killing. Although police have not identified a motive, LGBTQ+ advocacy groups and queer muslims around the world are raising the alarm on the prejudice left unchecked by religious leaders.
On Sunday, Hendricks was in Gqeberha, South Africa on his way back from officiating a wedding, according to the BBC. While on the road, his car was ambushed. CCTV footage shows a vehicle heading off his car and armed assailants getting out.
“Two unknown suspects with covered faces got out of the vehicle and started firing multiple shots at the vehicle,” the police statement said. “Thereafter they fled the scene, and the driver noticed that Hendricks, who was seated at the back of the vehicle was shot and killed.” The suspects have yet to be apprehended.
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Hendricks was 57 years old. He first came out in 1996—the same year that South Africa adopted its constitution, the first in the world to protect against discrimination based on sexual orientation. Ten years later, South Africa became the first (and only) country in Africa to legalize same-sex marriage.
Hendricks ran the inclusive Al-Ghurbaah mosque in Cape Town, South Africa. There, he formed the Inner Circle (later renamed Al-Fitrah Foundation), “an underground social and support group” for LGBTQ+ muslims designed to foster education and conversations on gender and sexuality within Islam.
Even up to his last moments, Hendricks remained a trailblazer. “He was visiting Gqeberha to officiate the marriages of two interfaith heterosexual couples when he was tragically shot and killed,” the Al-Fitrah Foundation clarified in a statement. While imams typically do not perform interfaith marriages, Hendricks himself had married a Hindu man.
In the absence of apprehended suspects, police have not yet announced a motive. However, queer advocacy groups like the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (Ilga) are raising the alarm on “what we fear may be a hate crime.”
The response from leading Muslim organizations representing imams, meanwhile, has been more restrained. The Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) and the United Ulama Council of South Africa (UUCSA) denounced “all forms of extra-judicial killings.” However, throughout the statement, the organizations did not acknowledge Hendricks as an official imam, referring to him instead as “Mr Hendricks.”
If the shooting was intended to deter LGBTQ+ advocacy within Islam, one South African religious leader does not believe it will have that effect. Reverend Kruger-Ayebazibwe told the BBC that the LGBTQ+ faith leaders would likely be more concerned about safety but they would never cease advocacy “because the work matters too much.”
Hendricks has been buried following a private ceremony. The Al-Fitrah Foundation has said that a monument will be built to “honour his immense contributions.”
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