The First Gay Muslim Wedding in British History Has an Incredible Backstory

On Tuesday, Jahed Choudhury, 24, married Sean Rogan, 19, in a small ceremony at the Walsall registry office in England. The two have been together since 2015. Choudhury, a Bangladeshi Muslim man, has had to deal with an immense amount of homophobia from his schoolmates and even his own family, who refuse to accept him. He told Express and Star:

“It went all over school, people would spit on me, empty the rubbish bins on me, call me pig and the Muslim people would shout ‘harum’ – which is a very nasty insult in my language.”

After he was kicked out of his mosque and attacked by other Muslim boys, he attempted suicide, but met Rogan shortly thereafter. He’s still dealing with the trauma he has faced, but remains positive:

“This is about showing people I don’t care, my family doesn’t want to come on the day, 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.

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.”

There have been more and more efforts to shed light on and advocate for queer Muslims who can face Islamophobia in the gay community as well as homophobia in the Muslim community. Whether it’s imams, activists, organizations like the Muslim Alliance for Sexual and Gender Diversity, artistic projects like “Just Me and Allah,” fun media stuff like YouTuber Dylan Marron’s “Extreme(ly Queer) Muslims” series, or the marriage of Jahed Choudhury and Sean Rogan, there’s certainly progress happening.