Image: Al-Ghurbaah Foundation Facebook page
Senior lecturer in Islamic Studies at UWC, Dr Fatima Essop, spoke to the BBC in the wake of Imam Muhsin Hendricks’s recent murder and specifically highlighted the comments and reactions on social media - predominantly in the Muslim community - that she termed “distressing.”
Footage of the shooting and Hendricks' murder went viral on social media. Some comments included people justifying Hendricks' murder as they believed his sexual orientation was at odds with the doctrines of Islam.
Last year, the University of the Western Cape’s (UWC’s) Department of Religion and Theology became the first in South Africa to offer Islamic Studies as a major subject for undergraduate students.
Speaking to the BBC, Dr Essop said: “I just find that completely shocking and so far removed from our Islamic tradition, which is all about compassion and mercy and preservation of human life."
She added: “There is absolutely no justification, Islamic or otherwise, for this kind of violence."
The murder of the world's first openly gay Imam, has been condemned by Human Rights groups in South Africa and around the world.
Hendricks was a prominent figure in the LGBTIQA+ community and a vocal advocate for their inclusion within Islam. He founded the Al-Ghurbaah Foundation and ran the Al-Ghurbaah mosque in Wynberg, which served as a safe haven for gay Muslims and other marginalised people.
In a message posted on social media two days after the murder, President Cyril Ramaphosa said: “While we await the outcome of investigations, I am concerned about the reported likelihood of this being a hate crime against a religious leader who championed the rights and protection of LGBTQ+ Muslims and compatriots more broadly.”
Both the Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) and the Cape Town Ulama Board condemned the crime.
Nearly a week after the murder, police had yet to make any arrests.
Senior lecturer in Islamic Studies at UWC, Dr Fatima Essop, spoke to the BBC in the wake of Imam Muhsin Hendricks’s recent murder and specifically highlighted the comments and reactions on social media - predominantly in the Muslim community - that she termed “distressing.”
Footage of the shooting and Hendricks' murder went viral on social media. Some comments included people justifying Hendricks' murder as they believed his sexual orientation was at odds with the doctrines of Islam.
Last year, the University of the Western Cape’s (UWC’s) Department of Religion and Theology became the first in South Africa to offer Islamic Studies as a major subject for undergraduate students.
Speaking to the BBC, Dr Essop said: “I just find that completely shocking and so far removed from our Islamic tradition, which is all about compassion and mercy and preservation of human life."
She added: “There is absolutely no justification, Islamic or otherwise, for this kind of violence."
The murder of the world's first openly gay Imam, has been condemned by Human Rights groups in South Africa and around the world.
Hendricks was a prominent figure in the LGBTIQA+ community and a vocal advocate for their inclusion within Islam. He founded the Al-Ghurbaah Foundation and ran the Al-Ghurbaah mosque in Wynberg, which served as a safe haven for gay Muslims and other marginalised people.
In a message posted on social media two days after the murder, President Cyril Ramaphosa said: “While we await the outcome of investigations, I am concerned about the reported likelihood of this being a hate crime against a religious leader who championed the rights and protection of LGBTQ+ Muslims and compatriots more broadly.”
Both the Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) and the Cape Town Ulama Board condemned the crime.
Nearly a week after the murder, police had yet to make any arrests.
