Muhsin Hendricks, known as the world’s first openly gay imam, was shot and killed in South Africa over the weekend, as authorities investigate whether the murder was a hate crime.
In a statement obtained by the BBC, police said that Hendricks was killed Saturday morning while traveling near the city of Gqeberha in South Africa’s Eastern Cape Province. His car was reportedly ambushed.
“Two unknown suspects with covered faces got out of the vehicle and started firing multiple shots at the vehicle,” authorities said.
Hendricks founded the Inner Circle, a safe haven for gay Muslims, shortly after coming out as an openly gay imam in 1996. He was previously married to a woman before divorcing her the same year that he came out.
“The Inner Circle is the longest standing, largest and most influential human rights organization in the world that deals with Islam, gender and sexual diversity from an Islamic theological perspective,” the organization’s website reads. “The Inner Circle works internationally and supports international affiliate organizations to do similar work, within an Islamic framework.”