A Muslim man, Jahed Choudhury, and his husband, Sean Rogan, were married last week in the West Midlands. The couple wore traditional Bangladeshi attire during their registry office ceremony.
The online response from Muslims has been mostly negative. When Pink News, a gay news outlet, posted a story about the couple by BBC Midlands, comments read, “Islam Forbids This…they can’t be Muslim If they are Gay” (sic) and “It’s like eating meat and calling myself a vegetarian.”
Twitter responses to The Independent’s story about the couple included one Muslim man saying, “just putting asian costumes doesn’t make it a Muslim marriage, there is no concept of gay marriage in Islam” (sic). Another said, “They are not Muslims, we don’t have gays and lesbians” (sic).
Other comments on the story expressed the irreconcilability of the two identities with the metaphor “oil and water doesn’t mixed” (sic). Others said the ceremony missed Muslim elements such as nikkah (an Islamic marriage contract), dua (a prayer), and an imam (religious leader). These elements may not have been available to the couple because of their genders.
Sources
http://www.ibtimes.com/twitter-reacts-uks-first-muslim-gay-marriage-couple-receives-threats-social-media-2565145
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/muslim-gay-wedding-couple-uk-first-online-abuse-jahed-choudhury-sean-rogan-walsall-west-midlands-a7836936.html
