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4 months ago
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THIS is the horror moment the world’s first openly gay Imam was assassinated in a brutal ambush as he set off to marry a lesbian couple in South Africa.
Muhsin Hendricks, 58, was gunned down in a hail of bullets at point blank range as he sat in the rear of a car as his driver set off to take the wedding.
AFP
Jamie Pyatt
AFPHe had flown to Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) to marry a lesbian interfaith couple after local Imams refused to officiate the ceremony.
Shocking video footage shows the killers using a Toyota Hilux to block his VW T-Roc before a masked gunman jumps out, runs to the rear window, and fires at least six shots into the cleric.
The gunman then sprints back to the getaway vehicle and speeds off, leaving Hendricks bleeding to death.
The Imam had suffered many death threats from those who believe Islam and homosexuality cannot be combined and it is thought this was a hate killing.
The tragic cleric ran a small mosque in Cape Town for LGBTQ Muslims in Cape Town that was a safe haven for those who feared attack for being gay.
He came out in 1996 when he was 29 and married to the horror of his family but they were soon reconciled and accepted him and his partner.
The brave Imam is one of 12 known gay Imam’s in the world and the only on in Africa and was the first to openly “come out” and go public.
A South African Police spokesman said: “At approximately 10am on Saturday he got into the back of a VW T-Roc with his driver at the wheel.
“Their path was blocked by a Toyota Hilux and an unknown suspect with a covered face got out of the vehicle and fired multiple shots into his victim.
“Thereafter the gunman was driven off and they fled the scene and the driver of the VW saw Hendricks who was sat in the back had been shot dead.
“We are appealing for help from the community to trace the killers” he said.
Hendricks was exiled from the faith by local Islamic Leaders in Cape Town in 2007 for continuing to say that that being gay and a Muslim were compatible.
He opened up a small unsignposted mosque in Cape Town for homosexual and straight Muslims and did Tik-Tok videos to support gay Muslims.
He founded an organisation in 1996 The Inner Circle to help those struggling with their sexuality and their faith and a similar foundation last year Al-Ghurbaah.
Mr Hendricks was the subject of numerous death threats by Muslims who said homosexuality between men and woman was against the teachings of the Quran.
The Islamic activist said: “I just carried on as normal but was advised to hire bodyguards but I never feared attack. In mosques some Muslims would greet me.
“But in others they were indifferent towards me but that never ever bothered me”.
He was a renowned scholar who had a degree in Islamic Studies from a Pakistan university and had worked as an Arabic language teacher and fashion designer.
The Democratic Alliance who govern the Western Province of which Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) is a part said they were horrified and condemned the attack.
Chairman of the DA Cape Town Regional Committee Roberto Quintas said Hendricks was a well-respected activist and stalwart of the LGBTQ community.
He said:”For this alleged hate crime to take place over the Valentine’s Day weekend, a time when love is celebrated across the world just adds to the horror.
“For it to happen before a wedding is an indictment of the hate and violence experienced by the LGBTQ communities in South Africa and elsewhere.
“Too many crimes against this community are committed whether it be the so-called “corrective rape” of lesbians in townships or the murder of transgender people.
“Now we have the murder of a high profile religious leader” he said.
English (US)