In this case7:14A gay imam was killed in South Africa. His friend says that his death “will not be in vain”
Muhin Hendricks has shown the world that “it is possible to be both queer and a devout Muslim,” his longtime friend and colleague, Reverend Jide Macaulay told Helen Mann.
Muhsin Hendricks has shown the world that “it is possible to be both queer and a devout Muslim”, explains his longtime friend and colleague.
Hendricks – A South African Imam who devoted his life to helping Muslims 2SLGBTQ + reconciling their identity with their faith – was killed by bullet in the city of Gqeberha. He was 57 years old.
“Muhhin got there. He went visible,” said Reverend Jide Macaulay, an Anglican Gay Minister and a longtime friend of Hendricks, In this case Guest host Helen Mann.
“It is a great loss not only for the LGBT community and not only for the religious community, but also for the world in which we live today.”
Reason to kill not known
Hendricks, who described himself as the first openly gay imam in the world, was killed after being caught by two men in a van whose faces were covered, according to the police.
A filming security video shows that one of them jumping from their vehicle, running to the Hendricks car was in and pulling a pistol several times through a side window.
Police did not establish a reason of murder, but political parties and parties for the defense of parties say they believe that Hendricks, who had long faced death threats, could be targeted because of his work .
The democratic alliance, the second political party in South Africa, said that “the nature of the murder strongly suggests professional success”.
Julia Ehrt, executive director of the international, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex association, called on the authorities to “invest in depth on what we fear may be a crime of hatred”.
The Muslim Judicial Council of South Africa said that even if he had constantly declared that Hendricks’ position was incompatible with Islamic lessons, “we unequivocally condemn his murder and any act of violence targeting members of the LGBTQ community or any other community “.
The South African Ministry of Justice said it was investigating the allegations that it was the target of an assassination.
Hendricks was an imam and a world -renowned activist who argued that there was nothing in the Koran who prohibited homosexual relations.
He pleaded for inclusion through his al-Ghurbaah foundation and led a mosque in CAP specifically for the 2SLGBTQ +people.
In the 2022 documentary The radicalHendricks spoke of the risks of being a gay religious, but said that his need to be his authentic self was bigger than his fear of dying.
It is a feeling that Macaulay said he was too familiar.
“Our authentic self is likely to put us in danger. Our authentic self has been criminalized. Our authentic self has been demonized,” said Macaulay, founder of the Rainbow organization of the 2SLGBTQ +organization.
“He went so far as to become a cleric, you know, in the same religion that condemns him, who demonizes him. And that is why it is very painful to see violence against him.”
‘The gay pastor meets the gay imam’
When Macaulay met Hendricks for the first time 16 years ago, he said, they made jokes that the title would be “the gay pastor meets the gay imam”.
“As radical as it is, so it was unknown,” said Macaulay. “We were clearly, you know, the counterparts.”
The parallels between them, he said, ran deeply. Both grew up in Africa, Hendricks in South Africa and Macaulay in Nigeria. The two women married the young men, then left gay at the end of the twenty. The two made spiritual journeys to reconcile faith with their sexual orientations.
And the two shared a mission: to create safe spaces for other queer of faith.
“I think that the fact that we were both married before going out as gay men is in fact obvious in the fact that we were quite concentrated on the African tradition, you know, very normative, you know, the patriarchal system “Said Macaulay.
“Getting out of this takes a lot of guts and it takes a lot of ferocity. And I think the unhappy end of his life is brutal. It takes something precious from our world.”
Macaulay said that as Imi, Hendricks was “sweet”, “jovial” and “playful”, but also a worker and deeply devoted to his mission and his faith.
“He liked to dance. He liked to have fun,” he said. “But at the same time, he is also very, very intellectual, very creative.”
Macaulay said Hendricks was also a loving father devoted to his three children.
“They removed him from his children. And it is heartbreaking because, at the same time, we have communities which also consider him as a paternal figure,” he said.
In a message on its official Facebook page, the Al-Ghurbaah Foundation described Hendricks “grandfather and guardian many. Continue to rest with the angels”.
Macaulay said Hendricks’ impact on others gives him the hope that even if his friend is dead, his mission will continue.
“His heritage is so strong that I pray and I hope he will continue,” he said. “We have to let the world know that you know, his death will not be in vain.”
