The British couple who made headlines last week for becoming the first gay Muslim couple to wed in the United Kingdom has faced threats of acid attacks over their relationship, one of the men said this week in an interview.

Jahed Choudhury, 24, was interviewed on the British television show the Victoria Derbyshire Show after a video of his wedding to Sean Rogan, 19, went viral.

The couple married at a local registry office and uploaded a video of their story to YouTube, with Choudhury recounting how alienated and depressed he’d been as a closeted gay man in the Muslim faith until he met Rogan.

Read More: Gay Muslim Marries the Man Who Saved His Life in UK's First Same-Sex Muslim Wedding

But now, Choudhury is facing threats of violence following his marriage to Rogan.

"The worst [messages] say, 'The next time I see you in the streets, I'm going to throw acid in your face,’” he said on the show, according to the BBC. "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.”

The threats come amid a spate of acid attacks in London in recent weeks. Two separate teenage boys have been charged in connection with the attacks, according to The Guardian. Five men were victims of the attacks, according to the report.

“First of all, I didn’t realize it was acid; then it started to burn. I saw they wanted to do it again, so I jumped off my bike and tried to hide from them behind cars,” one of the victims told The Guardian.

Read More: The Day After the Mosque Burns

Choudhury said the couple has not yet reported the threats to police but were considering it, according to the BBC. He also said he remained committed to his faith, regardless of criticism from within or outside of it.

"I've been brought up Muslim and the Koran mentions you cannot be gay and Muslim. But this is how I have chosen to live my life. I will never get rid of my faith,” he said.

Read More: Let Love Triumph Over Fear — a Gay Muslim Shares His Story

In telling the story of his relationship with Rogan, Choudhury had said how much bullying he faced as a child, including being spit on, and how his family still considered his sexuality a “disease.”

He tried to commit suicide shortly before he met Rogan, and the pair fell in love.

"I want to say to all people going through the same thing that's it's OK — we're going to show the whole world that you can be gay and Muslim,” Choudhury said.  

Photo via Youtube Express and Stars, Caters News Agency.

News

Demand Equity

UK’s First Married Gay Muslim Couple Faces Acid Attack Threats

By Colleen Curry