Foreign
World’s ‘first openly gay imam’, Muhsin Hendricks, shot dead in South Africa
Muhsin Hendricks, widely regarded as the world’s “first openly gay imam,” has been shot and killed near Gqeberha, South Africa, in what police are investigating as a targeted attack.
According to The Guardian UK, Hendricks, who founded a mosque as a sanctuary for gay and marginalised Muslims, was in a car with another person on Saturday when assailants blocked their vehicle and opened fire.
“Two unknown suspects with covered faces got out of the vehicle and started firing multiple shots at the vehicle,” police said. “Thereafter they fled the scene, and the driver noticed that Hendricks, who was seated at the back of the vehicle, was shot and killed.”
A video circulating on social media purportedly shows the killing in Bethelsdorp, near Gqeberha, and has been confirmed as authentic by police. “The motive for the murder is unknown and forms part of the ongoing investigation,” authorities said, urging anyone with information to come forward.
The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association condemned the killing. “The ILGA World family is in deep shock at the news of the murder of Muhsin Hendricks, and calls on authorities to thoroughly investigate what we fear may be a hate crime,” said its executive director, Julia Ehrt.
Hendricks, a vocal advocate for LGBTQ+ Muslims, publicly came out in 1996. He began hosting meetings for LGBTQ+ Muslims in his home city two years later. “I opened my garage, put a carpet down and invited people to have tea and talk,” he told The Guardian in 2022.
In 2011, he established a mosque after a friend endured a sermon condemning homosexuality. “I said, ‘Maybe it’s time we started our own space, so people can pray without being judged’.” The Al-Ghurbaah mosque in Wynberg, near Cape Town, describes itself as “a safe space in which queer Muslims and marginalised women can practise Islam.”
Hendricks, the subject of the 2022 documentary The Radical, had previously acknowledged threats against him but refused to live in fear. He said he had been advised to hire bodyguards but insisted that “the need to be authentic” was “greater than the fear to die.”
Born into a Muslim family, Hendricks married a woman and had children before coming out to his family at age 29. He later worked as an Arabic teacher and fashion designer while dedicating his life to LGBTQ+ advocacy within Islam.
France’s Foreign Ministry expresses in a statement its “deep concern” at the renewed outbreak of fighting in southern Lebanon.
The Quai d’Orsay condemns rocket attacks against Israel from Lebanon over the weekend, while calling on Israel to exercise restraint in its response.
“France reiterates the importance of not compromising the significant progress made in recent months to ensure the security of Israelis and Lebanese people on both sides of the Blue Line,” the statement reads, adding that French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot conveyed these messages to Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji.
The Houthis announced an aerial blockade on Ben-Gurion Airport and threatened any airlines that fly to Israel.
Yemen’s Houthis announced a blockade on Ben-Gurion Airport and warned major airlines from flying to Israel, the terror organization said in a Saturday morning statement.
“After the success of our Yemeni Armed Forces in cutting off Israeli shipping in the Red Sea, a blockade is imposed on Ben-Gurion Airport in occupied Palestine,” the Houthis wrote in a statement on X/Twitter.
The Houthis warned Lufthansa, Turkish Airlines, Air France, British Airways, United Airlines, and easyJet from flying to Israel for “everyone’s safety.”
Footage released by Houthi Military Media says to show a launch of missile, which the Houthis say they fired at Israel, at an unknown location in this screen grab obtained from a handout video released on December 19, 2024. (credit: Houthi Military Media/Handout via REUTERS)
Houthis target Ben-Gurion Airport
The organization wrote that any other airlines flying to Ben-Gurion Airport would also be targeted.
“Please take the decision of the Yemeni Armed Forces seriously, as Ben-Gurion Airport is no longer safe until the aggression on Gaza stops,” the statement read.
The announcement comes after the Yemeni terrorist organization fired multiple ballistic missiles towards Israel in the past week.
The terror organization targeted Jerusalem with missiles for the third time in two months on Friday.
The removal of Majer came the day after an Israeli Air Force reservist was dismissed for a similar posting on social media.
An officer in the IDF’s intelligence branch has been removed from his reserve duty after a social media post that he refused to take part in a continuance of fighting, The Jerusalem Post confirmed Wednesday.
Michael Majer, an officer in intelligence, had written on X that he would not take part any continuance of action. His post criticized national leadership, stating that he was not going to obey decisions that he felt were contradictory to the best interest of the nation.
According to the IDF, Majer was permanently removed from his position on reserve duty.
“The thing that will most help protect my people now is to refuse to take part in the fighting in the service of a bunch of filthy traitors and in complete opposition to the interests of the people of Israel.”
Risking everything by speaking out against gov’t
Following the publication of his post, Majer emphasized that he made a difficult, personal decision to speak out as reservist, because it is a large part of his identity and social circle. He said that he stands behind every word he wrote, and even brought it up during his dismissal hearing.
“Every person must have red lines. As far as I am concerned, they were crossed a long time ago,” he wrote in response to his dismissal. “I will not take part in an action that is motivated by foreign interests and means abandoning the kidnapped to their deaths, sending soldiers to kill and be killed in vain, and continuing the multifaceted deterioration of the State of Israel. All of this under a regime that has long since lost all legitimacy and is solely for the preservation of its power.”
The removal of Majer came the day after an Israeli Air Force reservist was dismissed for a similar posting on social media, Israeli media reported. The IAF reservist navigator had written that they were fearful of the fate of the hostages and expressed extreme concern over efforts to fire Shin Bet head Ronen Bar and the attorney general.
These comments mimicked those of a pre-October 7 world, where hundreds of reservists threatened to not show up for duty in protest.
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