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Imam Muhsin Hendricks Muhsin Hendricks (1970) was born in a deeply religious (Islamic) family in Cape Town.
His grandfather was Imam, his father was an Islamic healer and his mother an Islamic teacher.
Between 1990 and 1994 he studied Arabic, Islamic Rights and Islamic theology at the University of Karachi (Jamia Dirasat Al-Islamia) in Pakistan.
After graduating he returned to Cape Town, and became part-time co-Imam in a local mosque, taught at three other mosques and became well-known for his teaching Arabic.
At the age of 23, he agreed in an arranged marriage with a woman, whom shortly before the ceremony he told about his homosexuality.
Initially getting mad, she yet decided to stand by his side and "solve the problem" on an attempt to make this marriage work.
During the first year, the marriage got stuck, but still a first child was born, and two more would follow. After six years the couple decided to divorce.When his mother discussed the rumours that they had separated because of her sons homosexuality, he also came out to her. And although she, too, had a hard time understanding at first, she became convinced the equality of straight and gay relationships when she visited her son with his first partner for one-and-a-half week. When rumours started to spread at school that he would have an affair with one of his pupils, he suddenly lost his job in the Madrasa. This was the moment that he decided to come out publicly. In time he realised that he was not the only gay man who was forced to marry a woman, and that many men fled in alcohol or even in suicide. In 1998 he founded the first gay Islamic organisation in his country, and started to become publicly visible. In his local community he did not experience discrimination, he told. Today he also holds a diploma in counseling and communication, obtained through the South African College of Applied Psychology, and leads"The Inner Circle" in Cape Town, that helps gay Moslems with their coming-out. He is also responsible for a help line (on phone) under the title "Ask the Imam". He has written many articles and facilitated many workshop on Islam and sexual diversity in South Africa, the USA and Europe. In 2007, he participated in the documentary movie "A Jihad for Love". He is regarded as the first openly gay Imam in the world. Muhsin Hendricks is also director of the documentary "Fitrah: Engaging with Islam, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity" which explores how queer Moslems negotiate their sexuality and Islam. |