Muhsin Hendricks | South African Imam & LGBTQ+ Rights Advocate | Pride T-Shirt

Muhsin Hendricks | South African Imam & LGBTQ+ Rights Advocate | Pride T-Shirt

Muhsin Hendricks (1967–2025) was a South African imam, Islamic scholar, counselor, and internationally recognized advocate for LGBTQ+ Muslims. Widely regarded as the world’s first openly gay imam, he devoted nearly three decades to helping people reconcile their sexual orientation or gender identity with their Islamic faith.

Born in Cape Town in June 1967, Hendricks grew up in a traditional Muslim family and studied Arabic and Islamic sciences in Pakistan. After publicly coming out as gay in 1996, he began building a support network for queer Muslims who felt rejected by their families, religious communities, or traditional places of worship.

That network became The Inner Circle, later known as the Al-Fitrah Foundation. Hendricks subsequently led the Al-Ghurbaah Foundation, through which he provided religious education, counseling, inclusive worship, community support, and advocacy for LGBTQ+ Muslims. His work challenged the belief that queer identity and Islamic faith must be irreconcilable.

Hendricks’ ministry and activism reached audiences throughout South Africa and internationally. His life and work were documented in the 2022 film The Radical, which followed his ministry and the queer Muslims who found community through it.

On February 15, 2025, Hendricks was killed in a targeted shooting while visiting Gqeberha, South Africa. Although LGBTQ+ organizations called for the possibility of a hate crime to be investigated, authorities had not established the motive. His death brought renewed international attention to his ministry and the communities he spent his life supporting.

The Front Design

The front presents two stylized Theban warriors standing shoulder to shoulder behind overlapping shields. The paired warriors reference the Sacred Band of Thebes, traditionally described as 300 soldiers organized into 150 devoted male pairs.

Their overlapping shields represent mutual protection. Their shared stance and horizontal spear express loyalty, common purpose, and the courage created when people refuse to abandon one another.

Pride colors move across the warriors’ armor, cloaks, shields, and spear, connecting the historical emblem with the continuing visibility of LGBTQ+ people. The emblem does not portray Hendricks as an ancient warrior; it places his documented courage within a broader symbolic company of men who stood beside others in the face of hostility.

Beneath the emblem appears:

MUHSIN HENDRICKS

SOUTH AFRICAN | IMAM & LGBTQ+ RIGHTS ADVOCATE

You’ve always been in good company.

The inscription recognizes Hendricks as both a religious leader and an advocate. It affirms that LGBTQ+ people of faith have always been part of the human story—even when their presence was denied, condemned, or deliberately concealed.

The Back Design

The back features a weathered stone lion inspired by the Lion of Chaeronea, the monument associated with the Theban soldiers who fell at the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BCE.

The seated lion represents dignity, vigilance, courage, and remembrance. Its weathered surface evokes history damaged by time, conflict, and attempted erasure. Pride-colored pigment appears through the cracks, symbolizing identities that survived beneath generations of condemnation and silence.

Two overlapping shields at the monument’s base recall the loyalty of the paired Theban warriors. They also reflect Hendricks’ commitment to creating places where queer Muslims could protect, affirm, and strengthen one another.

The inscription reads:

THE SACRED BAND OF THEBES

CHAERONEA · 338 BCE

Together, the front and back transform the shirt into a wearable memorial—connecting an ancient tradition of devotion with a modern religious leader who insisted that LGBTQ+ people should not have to choose between faith and authenticity.

Why Muhsin Hendricks Belongs in the Company

Muhsin Hendricks created space for people told their faith and identity could never coexist. Through religious scholarship, counseling, inclusive worship, public advocacy, and international education, he helped queer Muslims approach their spiritual lives without surrendering who they were.

His importance extends beyond being widely regarded as the first openly gay imam. His greater accomplishment was turning personal honesty into sustained service to others. The Company of Sacred Men remembers Hendricks not only for challenging exclusion, but for building communities where dignity, faith, and belonging could exist together.

Key Accomplishments

• Became widely regarded as the world’s first openly gay imam after publicly coming out in 1996.
• Established The Inner Circle, later known as the Al-Fitrah Foundation, to support LGBTQ+ Muslims.
• Led the Al-Ghurbaah Foundation and promoted inclusive Islamic worship, education, counseling, and community care.
• Helped LGBTQ+ Muslims reconcile their religious faith with their sexual orientation or gender identity.
• Brought international visibility to queer Muslim experiences through advocacy, public speaking, and the documentary The Radical.

The Shirt

Printed on the AS Colour 5001 Staple Tee, this regular-fit crew neck is made with mid-weight combed cotton for a structured yet comfortable feel.

• Regular fit
• Crew neck
• Mid-weight fabric
• 100% combed cotton in solid colors
• Heather colors may contain 15% viscose
• Side-seamed construction
• Shoulder-to-shoulder taping
• Double-needle hems
• Preshrunk fabric
• Front-and-back printed design

Two coordinated artwork versions preserve the same composition while providing strong contrast on light and dark garment colors.

The Walt & Pete® Mission

Walt & Pete® preserves LGBTQ+ history through restored archival imagery and historically informed art. Forgotten Moments, Forever Remembered.

Care instructions

• Do not iron
• Do not dry clean
• Machine wash: cold (max 30C or 90F)
• Do not bleach
• Do not tumble dry

EU representative: HONSON VENTURES LIMITED, gpsr@honsonventures.com, 3, Gnaftis House flat 102, Limassol, Mesa Geitonia, 4003, CY

Product information: AS Colour 5001, 2 year warranty in EU and Northern Ireland as per Directive 1999/44/EC

Care instructions: Machine wash: cold (max 30C or 90F), Do not bleach, Do not tumble dry, Do not iron, Do not dryclean