'He never arrived': Slain openly gay imam Muhsin Hendricks was to have presided over an interfaith marriage

The first openly gay imam, Muhsin Hendricks, was assassinated as he was leaving to preside over an interfaith marriage.

Desiree le Roux said her niece's wedding in Gqeberha would have been the second interfaith marriage in her family presided over by Hendricks.

“He was the only one who had the strength and conviction to do so.

“He never arrived. I sat there wondering where he was. I did not look at messages on my phone, so did not realise what had happened until I saw Muhsin's cousin's message asking me to assist in finding out any information. At that point, I was still hoping that he had just been injured, but my cousin informed me that Muhsin was no more. The shock at this terrible news nearly brought me to my knees,” Le Roux said. 

Le Roux said Hendricks stood for love, unity and understanding — “principles that should define faith, not divide it ... and for that, he was murdered.

“Now, even in death, he is being attacked with vicious rumours, his name dragged through the mud simply because he was a gay man who dared to live his truth ... and my family, who sought only to celebrate love in the way that honoured both faiths, is now being targeted as well,” she said.

The Claremont Main Road Masjid (CMRM) has condemned the murder.

“We unequivocally condemn this tragic, cowardly and merciless targeted assassination of this Muslim leader within the LGBTQI+ community. We are profoundly shocked and deeply disturbed by this extreme act of violence. At the heart of our faith is the absolute sanctity, reverence and sacredness of human life. Islam teaches that the unjust killing of a single soul is akin to killing all of humanity (Qur'an 5:32),” it said.

The mosque said no theological dispute, no matter how profound, and no jurisprudential difference, no matter how contested, could ever justify murder. “Extrajudicial killings violate every ethical, moral, and spiritual principle we uphold.”

The mosque appealed to the police to act swiftly in bringing the perpetrator/s to justice.

“Acts of hate, wanton violence and criminality have no place in our communities and our faith tradition. We urge our community to remain steadfast and uphold peace and mutual respect in these distressing and difficult times. Dialogue, respect, understanding and a commitment to justice is the hallmark of our faith, and our approach to resolving differences,” it said.

Hendricks studied classical Arabic and Islamic studies at the University of Islamic Studies in Karachi, Pakistan, from 1990-1994.

He was also a human-rights activist focusing on gender and sexual diversity in Islam. He did independent research on Islam and sexual diversity, an area not often explored in the Muslim world. Hendricks also delivered many papers and facilitated workshops on Islam and sexual diversity to many organisations in South Africa, the US and Europe.

He was elected out of 970 international applicants by Echoing Green as one of the top 10 social entrepreneurs of 2006 and won many community awards for personal sacrifices and outstanding courage within his community. He also featured in the documentary A Jihad for Love which explored the lives of Muslims who were queer.

Hendricks was also the founder and director of The Inner Circle (founded in 2004), the largest formal organisation in the world for Muslims who are queer and also the only organisation that has a strong public education and training programme in Islam and sexual diversity.

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