There was grief in the room, but it was not allowed to have the final word.
On Saturday, 19 September, the Al-Ghurbaah Foundation brought together queer Muslims, faith leaders, activists, scholars and allies in Cape Town for “An Evening of Legacy & Renewal”, a moving tribute to the late Imam Muhsin Hendricks and a celebration of the organisation’s renewed future.
Held at 11 Broad Road in Wynberg, the gathering honoured Hendricks’ life, teachings and contribution to queer Muslim communities, while marking Al-Ghurbaah’s emergence from an extraordinarily difficult period.
Hendricks, a pioneering Muslim scholar and LGBTQIA+ activist and founder of the Foundation, was assassinated in February 2025. His death sent shockwaves through queer Muslim communities in South Africa and internationally.
Despite the lack of progress in the investigation into his murder, with his killer still at large, Saturday’s gathering made it clear that the movement Hendricks helped build continues.
Remembering Muhsin through faith and scholarship
American Islamic Studies scholar Scott Siraj al-Haqq Kugle, Samuel C. Dobbs Professor of Islamic Studies at Emory University, joined the event via Zoom. Kugle reflected on Hendricks’ theological work and his contribution to LGBTQIA+ Muslims, placing his legacy within wider conversations about Islamic interpretation, compassion, justice and dignity.
Reflecting on what he learned from Hendricks, Kugle said: “Always think about what is best. How will I argue with the person I’m arguing with according to what is best? They met Asim. And I think that was a principle that he lived his life by.”
Kugle also spoke about the connections between queer Muslims across different countries and communities.
“The most remarkable thing I think I took away from meeting with him and interviewing him and writing about him in my book was just this sense that we are a community scattered all around the world,” he said. “And yet as individuals or small groups, we’re having insights into the Qur’an and into compassion, which are the same.”
He added: “Our hearts are all connected. And the struggles we have to live our lives as Muslims in the wider community and in our families, they’re the same struggles. No matter where we are placed socially and geographically and nationally.”
MC M Mohamed, founder of Mo’s Kitchen in Heinz Park, Mitchells Plain, also shared a deeply personal account of Hendricks’ impact, recalling how the Imam changed his life by offering him employment.
Bridget Nkomana of Langa Pride reaffirmed the organisation’s solidarity with Al-Ghurbaah and Hendricks’ legacy.
“Today we are here in solidarity and also to ensure that the legacy that was left by Imam is forever, you know, living amongst us,” she said.
Nkomana said the work also challenged assumptions about the relationship between queerness and faith.
“What is important for us is to break the barriers where we think that as queer people we cannot also believe and have interfaith and also become Muslim or practise any of our religion. So therefore today we are here to say that we are in solidarity and we will continue to preach the gospel of love and unity.”
‘A place where queer Muslims could come home’
The evening’s closing address by Ziyaad Follentine, Acting Director of the Al-Ghurbaah Foundation, brought together themes of grief, survival, gratitude and renewal.
“Alhamdulillah that, after everything that we have been through, we are here,” he said.
Ziyaad recalled how Al-Ghurbaah lost both its Imam and its premises within days of each other.
“We lost our Imam, our teacher, our brother, Imam Muhsin Hendricks. And only days after we lost him, we lost our premises too. For a while, Al-Ghurbaah had no home.”
Despite the upheaval, the organisation has secured a new space that Ziyaad described as a workplace, a sanctuary and “a true home for so many”.
He said the vision remained the one Hendricks had carried throughout his life: “A place where queer Muslims could come home. A place where we could reconcile our faith with our sexuality.”
Ziyaad also stressed that the new sanctuary belongs to the wider community.
“This sanctuary exists and belongs to all of us. It wasn’t built by a single ego; it was built by a collective devotion, and now it requires our collective devotion.”
The evening also confronted difficult questions around accountability and safety within activist movements. Ziyaad called for transparency and strong organisational boundaries, arguing that internal integrity is essential to protecting communities.
On the question of justice for Hendricks, he said the organisation would continue to ask questions and advocate for accountability.
“We will continue to advocate. We will continue to demand justice.”
As the evening ended, mourning had given way to determination. For Al-Ghurbaah, honouring Muhsin Hendricks means more than remembering his life. It means carrying forward his vision of an Islam rooted in compassion, justice and dignity while ensuring that queer Muslims continue to have somewhere they can call home.
