Most headlines call him the “world’s first openly gay imam,” a newsworthy descriptor but hardly the whole story. Beyond Muhsin’s work with queer Muslims, he was a pillar of queer rights activism and the queer interfaith movement globally. He was a father, a grandfather and a friend.

The world's first openly gay imam in the Muslim faith was shot and killed in what local authorities say may be a hate crime.

A man hailed as the world’s first imam to say he was gay was shot dead in South Africa on Saturday, local police said, in what rights groups fear could be a hate crime.