Even in my last seconds of life, the first gay has pressed boundaries

Murder in the style of execution of I have an open gay, Muhsin Hendrix, in South Africa, left people in the LGBTQ+ community to fear their safety – but they also decided to go forward with the campaign to end their marginalization in religious circles.

Reverend Tony Krueger-Aibazibwe, openly gay Christian clergyman, told the BBC that Hendrix was a “gentle spirit” that brought light into every room he had taken.

“The leaves of the Muhsin abyss are massive,” she told the BBC, adding that she knew about the fact that there were “a large number of strange Muslims around the world who are sorrowful.”

The 57-year-old was shot dead in what he seemed to be a hit on Saturday in the small coastal city of Gcaberha.

Initial reports that Cape Town Hendricks was in GQEBERHA to perform a gay couple’s wedding ceremony was rejected as incorrect by his Al-Gurbaah Foundation.

“He was visiting GQEBERHA to serve the marriages of two inter -confessional heterosexual couples when he was tragically shot and killed,” a statement said.

It is not clear why couples asked Hendrix to monitor their ceremonies, but it suggests that he presses the boundaries, even in the final seconds of his life.

Traditional imams in South Africa rarely, if at all, commit a Muslim marriage to a non -Muslim – something that Hendricks obviously had no problem with.

According to the leader of faith, he talked that the BBC had held such a marriage ceremony and was about to hold the next one when he was shot in his vehicle.

Two leading bodies representing imams – the Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) and the United Ulama Council in South Africa (UUCSA) – have condemned Hendrix’s murder.

“As members of a democratic, pluralistic society, MJC remains unwavering in the intercession for peaceful co -existence and mutual respect, even among different views,” says MJC, while UUCSA said it has condemned “all forms of out -of -court killings.”

However, Hendrix – who has done his Islamic research in Pakistan – has been a pair in their circles as they believe Islam prohibits same -sex relationships.

They emphasize it as a “Handrix”, not from religious titles like I have or sheik.

In contrast, Hendrix’s supporters welcomed him as the world’s first gay Imam, which gave them the opportunity to reconcile their sexuality with their Islamic faith.

The fact that it was a path is not a surprising-constitution of South Africa, adopted in 1996. After the end of the white minority rule, it is the first in the world to protect people from discrimination due to their sexual orientation.

Then in 2006, South Africa became the first country in Africa to legalize same -sex marriage.

Once in a heterosexual marriage to children, Hendricks came out as a gay in 1996 – and according to the conversation later broke another taboo of Marry a Hindu manS

He then headed the formation of the inner circle as an “underground social group and a support group” for strange Muslims.

He started at his home in Cape Town and “proved he was very successful in helping Muslims who are strange to reconcile Islam with their sexuality,” The inner circle website saysS

Although South Africa has a thriving LGBTQ+ scene, community members are still facing some stigma and violence.

Only a few of the religious groups in the country have adopted policies that are more favorable to the community, including the Dutch reformed church and the Methodist Church in South Africa.

The Dutch Reformation Church was forced by the courts To restore politics, it was introduced four years earlier, but then she was scrapped, allowing same-sex marriage for gay and lesbian pastors to be in a romantic relationship.

The following year, the Methodist Church said that although “he is not yet ready to apply for his ministers to serve same-sex marriage,” no congregation residing in a Member State who recognizes civil unions will be “prevented from” He enters such a union that can be like one -sex or opposite sex couples. “

Reverend Ecclesia de Lange, Inclusive Director and confirming ministries (IAM), told the BBC that even in cases where the groups of faith have adopted inclusive policies, there are still “pockets with very strong conservatism.”

“The traditional interpretations of the sacred texts continue to exclude LGBTQ+ people, so the struggle to accept the communities of faith continue,” she said.

Senior Lecturer in Islamic Research at the University of South Africa on the West Cape, Dr. Fatima Esop, thinks about the “suffering” vitriol content spreading to social media after the murder of Hendricks.

“I just find this completely shocking and so far from our … Islamic tradition, which is all about compassion and mercy and preservation of human life,” she told the BBC.

Esop added that although he understands some of the strong feelings against Hendrix’s work, there is absolutely no excuse, Islamic or otherwise for this type of violence. “

And while the motive is unclear, the murder of Hendrick – and the negative comments that followed – will probably make people be afraid to “talk about their sexuality or sexual orientation,” said Dr. Esop.

Reverend Kruger-Aibazibwe said that while Hendrick Firing would cause LGBTQ+ leaders to rethink their security, it won’t prevent them from campaign for change, “because work matters too much.”

Hendricks has already been buried at a private ceremony, although his Al-Gurbaah Foundation has promised to organize a memorial in the near future to “honor his huge contribution.”

For Teboho Klaas, an employee of the religion program in another foundation that champions LGBTQ+ rights in South Africa, his killers may have interrupted their lives in short, but not his inheritance because he has multiplied himself. “