Married gay Muslim gets acid attack threats
A Muslim man who tied the knot with his same-sex partner has had threats of an acid attack.
Jahed Choudhury, 24, and Sean Rogan, 19, tied the knot this week in a ceremony in the West Midlands.
The pair donned Islamic garb for the ceremony, which was carried out in Walsall registry office.
Since marrying, the pair have been subjected to both homophobic and racist abuse online.
Appearing on the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire show today, Mr Choudhury revealed threats to attack him with acid.
He said: that after the pictures from their weddings went viral, “we got death threats. Really bad ones.”
He added: “The worst say, ‘the next time I see you in the streets, I’m going to throw acid in your face’.
Mr Choudhury added: “Even if I walk down the streets, I have people spitting on me and calling me pig, all the nasty stuff… I just keep walking.”
However, not all the reaction has been negative.
Mr Rogan said: “We went home yesterday and we got an email from this guy, and he said he watched our story. He said it touched it heart, and he planned to tell his parents that he’s gay. Step by step, people are taking it on.”
Appearing on ITV’s This Morning yesterday, Mr Choudhury revealed his family has also been targeted.
He said: “We still are [getting abuse].
“This morning I got a phone call saying some hate comments, towards my mum. It is not just Muslims, it is anyone who is homophobic.”
He added: “My family support me no matter what. My mum has been through hell and back. She’s getting hate right now, but she’s been supporting me a lot.
“I know that Islam will never accept homosexuals. It’s written there in black and white. But this is how I chose to live my life.
“I separate in my head being gay and Muslim. No matter what people say, I will always be Muslim, I will carry on praying for my rest of my life, it will never change.
“The main message is to educate people from traditional families who do not understand homosexuality. I just hope no one has to go through what I have.”
As a teenager, Jay was sent to Saudi Arabia to undergo gay ‘cure’ therapy.
He said: “I was desperate for it to go away, I would have tried anything. That’s how desperate I was.”
Mr Choudhury previously opened up to the Express and Star about struggling to reconcile his sexuality and faith.
He realised at school that he was not like other boys, as he was more interested in fashion than football, and quickly became a target for homophobic bullying.
While a teenager he was branded a “fag” and relentlessly bullied, driving him to attempt to ‘cure’ himself of homosexuality.
Mr Choudhury said that when the mosque he had attended for fifteen years found out he was gay, he was told he was no longer welcome.
It was at his lowest point that he met Mr Rogan, shortly after a suicide attempt.
He explained: “I’d not long overdosed and I was crying on a bench and Sean came over and asked if I was okay.
“He gave me hope at one of my lowest points and he’s stood by me all the way.
“I tried killing myself, and I then met Sean. The housing association got us a house in a week and we’ve been living together ever since.
“I proposed on Sean’s birthday last June.”
The pair tied the knot in a ceremony this week, dressed in traditional Islamic garb.
Mr Rogan said: “I’ve stood by him every step of the way. I’ve helped him with everything, and I will for the rest of my life.
“People at the Mosque need to understand about gay people – it’s not wrong, it’s who you are. It’s not a phase.
“I’ve known I was gay since I was six. I didn’t come out to my parents until I was 16, but you always know.
They low-key ceremony was not attended by Mr Chouhury’s family, as he explained: “They just don’t want to see it, it’s too embarrassing for them.
“They think it’s a disease and can be cured, some of my family still call it a phase.”
But he insisted: “I want to say to all people going through the same thing that’s it’s okay – we’re going to show the whole world that you can be gay and Muslim.”
