First gay imam and LGBT activist assassinated
Imam Muhsin Hendricks was murdered in South Africa after marrying two Muslim lesbians.
Imam Muhsin Hendricks
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A pioneer in LGBTQ+ inclusion within the Muslim community
On 15 February 2025, Imam Muhsin Hendricks, the first openly gay imam, was shot dead in Bethelsdorp, South Africa. Two armed men blocked his vehicle and opened fire before fleeing. According to the authorities, Hendricks had officiated at a lesbian wedding in Gqeberha.
Born in June 1967 in Cape Town, Hendricks was a prominent Islamic scholar and LGBTQ+ rights activist. In 1996, he publicly came out, becoming the first imam to do so. He founded several organisations, including the Al-Ghurbaah mosque in Cape Town, with the aim of providing spiritual and social support to queer Muslims.
Hendricks's work was fundamental to promoting greater acceptance of homosexual people within Islam. He took part in numerous international forums to advocate for this cause.
Hendricks's theory in favour of an Islam open to homosexuality
For him, sexual diversity was part of the nature created by God and should not be a reason for exclusion. With this approach, he founded the Al-Ghurbaah mosque and other initiatives to support LGBTQ+ Muslims.
Imam Hendricks's work in support of the homosexual community within Islam was crucial in opening up the debate and challenging interpretations that foster discrimination within the Muslim community.
Muhsin Hendricks argued that Islam did not condemn homosexuality, but that some traditional interpretations had taken the religious texts out of context. According to him, the story of Lot (Lut) in the Qur'an did not refer to consensual same-sex relationships, but to violence and abuse.
The Qur'an does not condemn homosexuality, according to Hendricks.
The first openly gay imam maintained that the Qur'an does not explicitly prohibit homosexuality, and that many restrictions derive from hadiths (narrations of the Prophet's life) of questionable authenticity. For this reason, Hendricks advocated a contextualised, less literal reading of the scriptures. His aim was to emphasise the values of justice, compassion and human dignity that Islam promotes.
The persecution of Muhsin Hendricks, the imam who defends homosexuality
Muhsin Hendricks was persecuted for his defence of LGBTQ+ rights within Islam. He received death threats from fundamentalist groups and was ostracised by the traditional Muslim community, which considered him a heretic.
He also suffered rejection from his own family and was excluded from religious and institutional spaces. Many of his lectures were censored and he faced difficulties in advancing his inclusive projects.
Nevertheless, he continued his struggle for a more welcoming and diverse Islam.
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