After Gay Imam Muhsin Hendricks’s Murder, a Cape Town Imam Spreads Hate

Well-known Cape Town imam and Islamic scholar Sheikh Jameel Adams is fuelling anti-LGBTQ+ hate by condemning murdered gay imam Muhsin Hendricks as an apostate and asserting that homosexuality must be punished by death.

Hendricks, widely recognised as the world’s first openly gay imam, was shot dead in what appeared to be a targeted assassination on 15 February in Gqeberha.

Adams’ Dangerous Sermon Shared on Social Media

In a clip of a sermon or lecture recorded on video and widely shared on social media and messaging platforms, Adams fails to condemn the murder, lashes out at Hendricks, and spews religious intolerance that could spark further violence against LGBTQ+ Muslims in South Africa.

“The first thing I want to make clear [is] there can be no such thing in Islam as a gay imam. If he was gay, he’s not an imam. Because to be an imam, he must be a person of Taqwa [a Muslim who is conscious of God, pious, and God-fearing],” says Adams in one video.

He argues that because of his sexuality, Hendricks was not of Islamic character and was guilty of “sinfulness” and “open transgression” and thus could not be a religious leader.

“So when they say, ‘Oh, this gay imam…’ they are trying to put something across, they’re trying to spread this poison. In Islam, there’s no such thing,” Adams asserts. He goes on to state that being gay or homosexual, “which he [Hendricks] openly proclaimed… is a major sin, one of the worst sins, one of the most detestable sins.”

Support for Execution Under Sharia Law

Adams, who MambaOnline understands serves as the imam and khateeb [preacher] at the Masjid-ut-Tawheed mosque in cape Town, proclaims that being gay or homosexual, “which he [Muhsin Hendricks] openly proclaimed… is a major sin… an abominable action, an evil, illicit deed… so evil, so vile, so disgusting…”

Concluding his argument, Adams states that if “you men approach men with your desires instead of women… doing the actions of the people of Lot [then] execute the one doing and the one done to.” He reiterates, “The ruling of the Sharia [is] whoever you find doing the action of the people of Lot, execute the one doing and the one done to.”

In two other clips of the same sermon, shared on the Facebook page of Masjid Tawheed Cape Town on 18 February and 20 February, Adams declares that Hendricks was “an apostate from Islam” and thus should not be prayed over and “should not be buried with the Muslims.” He also restates that for “homosexuality, the penalty is death.”

One individual agreed, commenting about Hendriks’ murder on the video: “The guy was a murtad [apostate], so he got what he deserved.”

Fears of a Hit List Circulating

News of these videos comes amid reports that a so-called “hit list” with the names of high-profile Muslims who condemned Hendricks’s still-unsolved murder is being circulated within conservative sectors of the Muslim community in South Africa. We have been asked not to share further details to protect the safety of those affected.

While Adams could argue that he was simply stating traditional Islamic law, his decision to make these inflammatory statements just days after the murder of Imam Muhsin Hendricks could be seen as tacitly condoning the killing and could inspire further violence.

While we have not seen the full sermon, based on the clips shared online, Adams chose to heighten anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment within the Muslim community instead of acting as a responsible community leader.

A Call to Action Against Hate Speech

MambaOnline joins calls for members of the LGBTQ+ community and our allies to report Sheikh Jameel Adams’s statements to the South African Human Rights Commission as dangerous hate speech. (The online complaint form can be found here. You can use the Masjid Tawheed Mosque’s contact details for Sheikh Jameel Adams.)