Green Shoots: In memory of Jesse Jackson and Muhsin Hendriks

The Reverend Jesse Jackson died at his home in Chicago this week at the age of 84. He was a protégé of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr and was with him when the great civil rights leader was gunned down in 1968. 

At the 1984 Democratic Party convention in the USA, Jackson is credited as being the first person to mention specifically lesbian and gay people at such a high-level public event. His words in describing what the tapestry of society should be: “The white, the Hispanic, the black, the Arab, the Jew, the woman, the Native American, the small farmer, the businessperson, the environmentalist, the peace activist, the young, the old, the lesbian, the gay and the disabled make up the American quilt.”

An icon of the civil rights movement himself, Jackson was a firm champion of the anti-apartheid movement, and did more than many to help us realise our freedom in South Africa. His activism was evident wherever rights of ordinary people were being trampled, and he garnered respect for his solidarity with political and social struggles throughout the world, including in the north of Ireland, Syria, Cuba, the Balkans and in opposing the invasion of Iraq. I particularly enjoyed the fact that the political organisation he established in 1984 was called the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition. That Rainbow continues to be a beacon of hope for so many whose rights are denied and whose lives are threatened.

This week also marks the first anniversary of the death of Muhsin Hendriks. He was a 57-year-old South African Islamic scholar and the world's first openly gay imam. He was assassinated on February 15, 2025, in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape. There is little doubt that, like MLK, his activism rooted in deep faith was what led to his life being cut short. In 1996, Hendricks founded the Inner Circle (later known as Al-Fitrah Foundation), a support network for gay Muslims coming to terms with their sexual orientation. He provided prayers, counselling and Muslim same-sex marriage ceremonies.

Hendriks never reached the ripe age that Jackson did. Neither did King Jr, nor many others whose faith moved them to stand in solidarity with those who refused to be sidelined and oppressed. I find great inspiration in those icons of human rights who were motivated by their faith. Of course, there are many champions who did not have a faith basis for their activism, and would have been staunchly atheist in their motivation. I remember Jeremy Cronin, the Communist Party leader and anti-apartheid activist, talking about his jailers saying that if he had read the Bible - usually the only book in the cells - he would not be involved in these terrorist activities. He told them it was precisely because of what he read there that he joined the Struggle against oppression.

There are still too many people of faith in my life and society whose theology calls them to - in their own words - “love the sinner and hate the sin”. The sin, of course, is homosexuality. I am astounded that this type of thinking continues to exist, and faith institutions and their followers find it acceptable to trample on the rights of ordinary people to be themselves. It’s almost like Reverend Jackson’s congregations had a choice to be black, and back in Jim Crow USA that must have been a sin. I don’t know how "hate the sin, love the sinner" would work in that instance. 

The giants of our liberation in this country are reaching the twilight of their lives, and we are lucky to have them around to celebrate and honour them. There are too many  who never reached their dotage, and we are duty-bound to keep their memory alive. We must remember Hendriks and demand that the authorities bring his killers to justice. We must channel the love for humanity of people like MLK, Jackson, Hendriks, and so many others in challenging the hatred that flows from those who would diminish the inherent dignity of people who are different from them.