Muhsin Hendricks isn't the first radical or rebel out there to make a significant impact on a population. But his efforts and his message of acceptance illuminate a broader category of issues surrounding homosexuality in Islam, as well as other religions that have enforced a lack of tolerance.
The documentary The Radical depicts the story of Mushin coming to terms with his identity along with the multitude of positive and negative responses it prompts within the South African population. On the positive side, it certainly encourages people within the Islamic faith who are undoubtedly struggling with coming to terms with their sexual identity and accepting themselves. The more negative side though prompts a more volatile response where people can actually express a desire to see things like the death penalty return, and in such a casual fashion that it only strengthens a much deeper message rooted within the story of Mushin Hendricks. As an Imam and an openly gay one, Muhsin Hendricks' efforts to promote acceptance of gays within Islam is radical, but on a more fundamental level, it illustrates how these actions function on a more cultural level, which is how a lot of religions operate. Regardless of what religion is being discussed, be it Judaism, Christianity, or in this case Islam, the efforts of Muhsin Hendricks highlight how when a cultural issue is considered controversial within a religious faith, it ultimately unveils the dangers that dogmatism can have in crippling a populace on a psychological level. This involves people who are gay and those who aren't gay because the fact that some people can casually express an openness to having the death penalty return as a proper response for gay Muslims is as horrifying as the imposed self-hatred many of the gay Muslim men featured within The Radical suffered from prior to accepting themselves.
This is the result of the culture they have been a part of, and if there is one thing The Radical proves, it is how the kind of change that figures like Mushin fight for, promotes both acceptance and even an analysis of the kind of cultural practice that didn't welcome figures like him and who simply felt natural as themselves in the first place.
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