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==Islam and the LGBTQIA+ Community in South Africa==
South Africa’s general tolerance and acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community is well documented and enshrined in the country’s constitution under section 9 [https://www.concourt.org.za/index.php/gay-and-lesbian-rights]. However, this does not stop societal or cultural attitudes toward the community. An example of this tension can be seen within South Africa’s Muslim community. Cases of alienation and excommunication due to sexual orientation or advocacy by the Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) are not uncommonZackie Achmat, “Struggle for acceptance: On the difficulties of being queer and Muslim in Cape Town”, Daily Maverick (Cape Town), 12 March 2025, https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-03-12-struggle-for-acceptance-on-the-difficulties-of-being-queer-and-muslim-in-cape-town/?dm_source=blocks-horizontal&dm_medium=card-link&dm_campaign=inform. The tension between religious beliefs and personal sexual identity creates a troubling reality for many queer Muslims in contemporary South Africa.
Many academic scholars highlight that queer identity is often not recognised within Islam, or if it is recognised, it is seen as a colonial product that does not fit into the Islamic faith Francisco Piraino, and Laura Zambelli. “Queer Muslims in South Africa: Engaging Islamic Tradition”, Journal for Islamic Studies 37, no. 1 (2018), 123-124. https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC-1844591d85 . Many figures and organisations within the Islamic community in South Africa remain opposed to South Africa’s tolerance of the LGBTQ+ community and stand in opposition to its recognition and the recognition of LGBTQ+ marriages. Academics such as Osman highlight that organisations such as the Muslim Judiciary Council (MJC) remain steadfast in their opposition to queer marriages using fiqh as a precedent against recognising queer Muslims Mujahid Osman, “Queering Jihad in South Africa: Islam, Queerness, and Liberative Praxis”, Religion 14, no. 9 (2023), 1082-1084. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14091081. However, this is not to say that the whole of South Africa’s Islamic community shares the same views as the MJC or partakes in the denial of queer Muslims. Rather, it is easier to see attitudes toward the LGBTQ+ community as a spectrum that ranges from total denial, while organisations such as the Inner Circle actively promote tolerance and acceptance of queer Muslims as a part of the wider Islamic community Mujahid Osman, and Sa’diyya Shaikh. “Islam, Muslims and Politics of Queerness in Cape Town”, Journal of Gender and Religion in Africa 23, No. 2 (2017), 43-45. https://www.jstor.org/stable/48803045. This contestation of beliefs creates an environment in which queer Muslims’ identities are constantly placed up for debate and risk losing familial, societal, or communal connections due to their sexual orientation.
Prominent LGBTQ+ activist and the first openly gay imam, [[Muhsin Hendricks|Muhsin Hendricks]], was at the forefront of advocating for the inclusion of queer Muslims into South Africa’s Islamic community. Hendricks’ Majid Ul-Umam was an open and inclusive space for queer Muslims and actively fought for the recognition of the community by hosting queer weddings and functioning alongside Hendricks’ Inner Circle organisation Kristin Engel, “Queer, interfaith couples wed by Muhsin Hendricks pay homage to imam’s faith, love and acceptance”, Daily Maverick (Cape Town), 20 Feb 2025, https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-02-20-queer-interfaith-couples-wed-by-muhsin-hendricks-pay-homage-to-imams-faith-love-and-acceptance/?dm_source=blocks-horizontal&dm_medium=card-link&dm_campaign=inform. This was one of the leading organisations calling for LGBTQ+ tolerance and was in direct opposition to organisations such as the MJC. Despite being a well-regarded figure within the queer community, Hendricks’ outspoken beliefs and activism placed him at odds with many of the more conservative members of South Africa’s Islamic community. Hendricks was unfortunately shot and killed in an attack in 2025 while in the city of Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth). The attack is just one example of violence aimed at queer South Africans, with many speculating that it was a targeted assassination aimed at silencing the outspoken imam and preventing him from furthering his message and advocacy Estelle Ellis, “Condolences, tributes pour in for Muhsin Hendricks, openly gay imam shot dead at weekend”, Daily Maverick (Cape Town), 16 Feb 2025, https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-02-16-tributes-pour-in-for-muhsin-hendricks-openly-gay-imam-shot-dead/. While there was an outpouring of support for Hendricks and condemnation of the attack by the public, the MJC and other conservative Muslim organisations used the opportunity to once again reiterate that Hendricks’ teachings were not compatible with the Islamic faith and that it remains a sin to be queer as a Muslim and highlighting that his beliefs were not those of the majority of South Africa’s Muslims Estelle Ellis, “Condolences, tributes pour in for Muhsin Hendricks, openly gay imam shot dead at weekend”, Daily Maverick (Cape Town), 16 Feb 2025, https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-02-16-tributes-pour-in-for-muhsin-hendricks-openly-gay-imam-shot-dead/.
Queer Muslims in South Africa continue to face pushback for their sexuality despite efforts to reform and spread acceptance within the Islamic community. In 2022, the MJC announced that any Muslim who is part of the LGBTQ+ community could not be considered a part of the Islamic faith and was to be excommunicated from the community “Maverick Citizen”, “Open letter rejects ‘unconstitutional fatwa’ against LGBTQIA+ Muslims”, Daily Maverick (Cape Town), 12 Jul 2022, https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-07-12-we-denounce-fatwa-of-unelected-islamic-authorities-lgbtqia-muslims/?dm_source=blocks-horizontal&dm_medium=card-link&dm_campaign=inform while in 2024 also announcing that any transgender female who was to be buried according to Islamic tradition was to be treated as a young boy and not as their preferred identity Trace-Lynn Ruiters, “Muslim Judicial Council’s fatwa on burying transgenders”, Independent Online (Cape Town), 13 Jul 2023, https://iol.co.za/news/south-africa/western-cape/2023-07-17-muslim-judicial-councils-fatwa-on-burying-transgenders/ . These decrees were met with widespread criticism and are seen as continuing queerphobic attacks by many within the LGBTQ+ community, advocating for queer Muslims’ inclusion in the Islamic community.
While there have been strides made toward a more tolerant approach to the LGBTQ+ members in South Africa’s Islamic community, activists continue to fight for further inclusion and tolerance for their queer counterparts.
==Islam and the LGBTQIA+ Community in South Africa==
South Africa’s general tolerance and acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community is well documented and enshrined in the country’s constitution under section 9 [https://www.concourt.org.za/index.php/gay-and-lesbian-rights]. However, this does not stop societal or cultural attitudes toward the community. An example of this tension can be seen within South Africa’s Muslim community. Cases of alienation and excommunication due to sexual orientation or advocacy by the Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) are not uncommonZackie Achmat, “Struggle for acceptance: On the difficulties of being queer and Muslim in Cape Town”, Daily Maverick (Cape Town), 12 March 2025, https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-03-12-struggle-for-acceptance-on-the-difficulties-of-being-queer-and-muslim-in-cape-town/?dm_source=blocks-horizontal&dm_medium=card-link&dm_campaign=inform. The tension between religious beliefs and personal sexual identity creates a troubling reality for many queer Muslims in contemporary South Africa.
Many academic scholars highlight that queer identity is often not recognised within Islam, or if it is recognised, it is seen as a colonial product that does not fit into the Islamic faith Francisco Piraino, and Laura Zambelli. “Queer Muslims in South Africa: Engaging Islamic Tradition”, Journal for Islamic Studies 37, no. 1 (2018), 123-124. https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC-1844591d85 . Many figures and organisations within the Islamic community in South Africa remain opposed to South Africa’s tolerance of the LGBTQ+ community and stand in opposition to its recognition and the recognition of LGBTQ+ marriages. Academics such as Osman highlight that organisations such as the Muslim Judiciary Council (MJC) remain steadfast in their opposition to queer marriages using fiqh as a precedent against recognising queer Muslims Mujahid Osman, “Queering Jihad in South Africa: Islam, Queerness, and Liberative Praxis”, Religion 14, no. 9 (2023), 1082-1084. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14091081. However, this is not to say that the whole of South Africa’s Islamic community shares the same views as the MJC or partakes in the denial of queer Muslims. Rather, it is easier to see attitudes toward the LGBTQ+ community as a spectrum that ranges from total denial, while organisations such as the Inner Circle actively promote tolerance and acceptance of queer Muslims as a part of the wider Islamic community Mujahid Osman, and Sa’diyya Shaikh. “Islam, Muslims and Politics of Queerness in Cape Town”, Journal of Gender and Religion in Africa 23, No. 2 (2017), 43-45. https://www.jstor.org/stable/48803045. This contestation of beliefs creates an environment in which queer Muslims’ identities are constantly placed up for debate and risk losing familial, societal, or communal connections due to their sexual orientation.
Prominent LGBTQ+ activist and the first openly gay imam, [[Muhsin Hendricks|Muhsin Hendricks]], was at the forefront of advocating for the inclusion of queer Muslims into South Africa’s Islamic community. Hendricks’ Majid Ul-Umam was an open and inclusive space for queer Muslims and actively fought for the recognition of the community by hosting queer weddings and functioning alongside Hendricks’ Inner Circle organisation Kristin Engel, “Queer, interfaith couples wed by Muhsin Hendricks pay homage to imam’s faith, love and acceptance”, Daily Maverick (Cape Town), 20 Feb 2025, https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-02-20-queer-interfaith-couples-wed-by-muhsin-hendricks-pay-homage-to-imams-faith-love-and-acceptance/?dm_source=blocks-horizontal&dm_medium=card-link&dm_campaign=inform. This was one of the leading organisations calling for LGBTQ+ tolerance and was in direct opposition to organisations such as the MJC. Despite being a well-regarded figure within the queer community, Hendricks’ outspoken beliefs and activism placed him at odds with many of the more conservative members of South Africa’s Islamic community. Hendricks was unfortunately shot and killed in an attack in 2025 while in the city of Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth). The attack is just one example of violence aimed at queer South Africans, with many speculating that it was a targeted assassination aimed at silencing the outspoken imam and preventing him from furthering his message and advocacy Estelle Ellis, “Condolences, tributes pour in for Muhsin Hendricks, openly gay imam shot dead at weekend”, Daily Maverick (Cape Town), 16 Feb 2025, https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-02-16-tributes-pour-in-for-muhsin-hendricks-openly-gay-imam-shot-dead/. While there was an outpouring of support for Hendricks and condemnation of the attack by the public, the MJC and other conservative Muslim organisations used the opportunity to once again reiterate that Hendricks’ teachings were not compatible with the Islamic faith and that it remains a sin to be queer as a Muslim and highlighting that his beliefs were not those of the majority of South Africa’s Muslims Estelle Ellis, “Condolences, tributes pour in for Muhsin Hendricks, openly gay imam shot dead at weekend”, Daily Maverick (Cape Town), 16 Feb 2025, https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-02-16-tributes-pour-in-for-muhsin-hendricks-openly-gay-imam-shot-dead/.
Queer Muslims in South Africa continue to face pushback for their sexuality despite efforts to reform and spread acceptance within the Islamic community. In 2022, the MJC announced that any Muslim who is part of the LGBTQ+ community could not be considered a part of the Islamic faith and was to be excommunicated from the community “Maverick Citizen”, “Open letter rejects ‘unconstitutional fatwa’ against LGBTQIA+ Muslims”, Daily Maverick (Cape Town), 12 Jul 2022, https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-07-12-we-denounce-fatwa-of-unelected-islamic-authorities-lgbtqia-muslims/?dm_source=blocks-horizontal&dm_medium=card-link&dm_campaign=inform while in 2024 also announcing that any transgender female who was to be buried according to Islamic tradition was to be treated as a young boy and not as their preferred identity Trace-Lynn Ruiters, “Muslim Judicial Council’s fatwa on burying transgenders”, Independent Online (Cape Town), 13 Jul 2023, https://iol.co.za/news/south-africa/western-cape/2023-07-17-muslim-judicial-councils-fatwa-on-burying-transgenders/ . These decrees were met with widespread criticism and are seen as continuing queerphobic attacks by many within the LGBTQ+ community, advocating for queer Muslims’ inclusion in the Islamic community.
While there have been strides made toward a more tolerant approach to the LGBTQ+ members in South Africa’s Islamic community, activists continue to fight for further inclusion and tolerance for their queer counterparts.
