Ahed Choudhury and Sean Rogan are in the public spotlight because they are the first gay Muslim couple from Britain to hold a wedding.
As reported by the Independent, Thursday, July 13 2017, Choudhury and Rogan held a wedding ceremony in Walsall, West Midlands.
This is the first wedding ceremony in the UK where one of the bride and groom is Muslim.
Choudhury hopes to show the world that “it’s okay to be Muslim and gay”.
Both wore traditional Bangladeshi wedding attire. The wedding party took place warmly surrounded by family and friends.
For Choudhury, 24, the process leading up to this marriage was tough.
He told local media that he felt like a scapegoat in his family, which adheres to a fanatical Islam.
He was often bullied at school because of his sexual orientation. He was also frequently attacked by other Muslims and barred from entering the mosque.
This young man said he tried to change his sexual orientation, even performed Umrah to Saudi Arabia and returned home to Bangladesh. However, he became even more depressed and had attempted suicide.
But all of Choudhury’s denials ended after meeting Sean Rogan.
They started living together in 2015 and Choudhury proposed to Rogan on his birthday last year.
“This marriage showed other people that I no longer cared. My family didn’t come, they didn’t want to see this wedding. It’s too embarrassing for them,” Choudhury said.
“For them, homosexuality is a disease and can be cured.”
Choudhury wants to show that being gay has always been his identity and trying to deny it can actually lead to depression.
“I want to tell everyone who feels the same way I do, that it’s okay. We can show the world that it’s okay to be Muslim and gay,” he asserted.
Rogan, 19, said he would continue to be by Choudhury’s side, “every step, forever.”
“Being gay is not a mistake, nor is it a phase. We need support,” said Rogan.
However, Walsall Town Hall, where they married, said religion was not recorded in the marriage certificate. In Britain, same-sex marriage with religious ceremonies is rare. There is only one data in 2014.
The Muslim Council of England, which houses more than 500 Islamic organizations and mosques in England, along with the Anglican Church of England, vehemently rejected the legalization of same-sex marriage in England and Wales in 2013. Gay marriage was later legalized in Scotland, but remains illegal in Northern Ireland. .