Leading Muslim scholar and activist Yousuf Deedat, 65, passed away at St Anne’s hospital in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa on Friday afternoon.

The South African activist and son of a deceased prominent Muslim preacher Ahmed Deedat was shot outside a court in the coastal city of Durban on Wednesday, January 15.

“The family conveys their heartfelt gratitude for the support they received from family, friends and the community. May his soul rest in peace,” his son Raees Deedat said.

Muslim scholars across the world have mourned with grief and pain the loss of the prominent activist, urging the South African government to investigate his murder.

“Yusuf Deedat, son of Ahmed Deedat, just succumbed to his wounds and passed away. I strongly urge the S. African authorities to find the murderer who did this heinous deed and bring him to justice in this world – and as for the ultimate Justice, that will be meted out on Judgment Day,” American Muslim scholar Yasir Qadhi wrote on Facebook.

“May Allah grant Yusuf Deedat the status of a shahīd, and forgive his sins and exalt his ranks, and give sabr to his family!”

Renowned Muslim scholar Yusuf Estes also mourned the loss of Sheikh Yousuf Deedat.

“Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi rajioon – (From Allah we come and to Allah is the return). I knew Yousuf Deedat personally from visits to South Africa after 9/11. He was quite an amazing person,” Estes wrote.

Prominent Scholar

Sheikh Ahmed Deedat, who died in 2005, was a prominent South African Muslim missionary who held several interfaith public debates with evangelical Christians.

He was known across the world as a respected public speaker and writer who published several widely-distributed booklets on Islam and Christianity.

He was the founder of the Islamic Propagation Centre International, which aims for Islam to be heard and understood across the world.

The late Deedat was awarded the King Faisal International Prize in 1986 for his 50 years of missionary work.

His son Yousuf is a famous community activist and Muslim scholar in Durban. Police said they were still investigating the reason behind his shooting.