Click here to view a video recording of this CLGS Lavender Lunch!

In this CLGS Lavender Lunch, we continue the exploration of communities of color living with the intersecting realities of queer identity and religious faith by focusing on LGBTQ organizing within Muslim communities.

Our speaker, Muhsin Hendricks, is an Islamic Scholar and an Imam (religious leader) by profession. He is also a human rights activist focusing on sexual orientation & gender identity in Islam. Mushin has undertaken independent research on Islam and sexual diversity, an area that is not often explored in the Muslim world; he is also featured in the critically-acclaimed film A Jihad for Love, which focuses on the lives of queer Muslims, and in the documentary film The Radical.

Muhsin Hendricks is an Islamic Scholar with a background in Classical Arabic and Islamic Sciences obtained at the University of Islamic Studies (Jamia-Dirasat Al-Islamiyyah), Karachi Pakistan (1990-1994). Muhsin Hendricks is an Imam (religious leader) by profession and also a human rights activist focusing on sexual orientation & gender identity in Islam. He has done independent research on Islam and sexual diversity; an area that does not often get explored in the Muslim world. He has delivered many training modules on the subject to various organizations internationally.

Muhsin Hendricks also holds a Diploma in Counselling and Communication obtained through the South African College of Applied Psychology and often used his Islamic training in conjunction with his counselling and coaching skills to bring healing to queer Muslims. He is the founder of Al-Ghurbaah Foundation in Cape Town and the administrator of the Compassion-centred Islam (CCI Network) for inclusive scholars and religious leaders.

Muhsin Hendricks’ publications include:
• Policy Brief: Islam, Sexual Diversity, and Access to Health
• Islamic Texts: A Source of Acceptance for Queer Individuals into Mainstream Muslim Society
• Islam and Sexual Diversity: Interrogating Heteropatriarchy in Islamic Texts
• Myths and Misconceptions of Homosexuality in Muslim communities
• Forthcoming: From Extremist Exclusion to Radical Inclusion

This CLGS Lavender Lunch was recorded on 6 December 2023