Muhsin Hendricks considered the world’s first openly gay imam, was shot dead on Saturday near the southern city of Gqeberha.
According to the police, The imam, who ran a mosque intended as a safe haven for gay and other marginalised Muslims, was in a car with another person when a vehicle stopped in front of them and blocked their exit.
Hendricks who was involved in various LGBTQ advocacy groups, came out as gay in 1996. He ran the Al-Ghurbaah mosque at Wynberg near his birthplace Cape Town.
The mosque provides “a safe space in which queer Muslims and marginalised women can practise Islam”, its website states.
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