A man regarded as the first openly gay Muslim imam has been fatally shot while sitting in a car in South Africa in what many are calling an assassination because of his teachings.

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.

Muhsin Hendricks was credited by some as being the world’s first openly gay imam and helped Muslims reconcile their faith with their sexual orientation.