June 22, 2017, was an exciting day for Jahed Choudhury. On that day, the 24-year-old Muslim got married to his partner, a man, making him one of the first gay Muslim men to do so in the U.K.
Choudhury said 'I do' to his partner of two years, 19-year-old Sean Rogan, in a low-key ceremony at the registry office in Walsall, England.
The couple even dressed in traditional Bangladeshi attire for the ceremony.
Though a few loved ones attended the ceremony, Choudhury told Express & Star his family did not attend.
"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," he said. "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 OK — we're going to show the whole world that you can be gay and Muslim."
The couple started dating in 2015 shortly after Rogan spotted Choudhury crying on a bench after being treated in the hospital for an overdose, the BBC reports.
"It was outside Asda of all places," he recalled. "He came up to me and asked if I was OK. I thought he was my guardian angel."
Choudhury credits his husband for helping him accept his sexuality.
The newlywed, who said he knew he was gay at the age of six, said he had long struggled with being both gay and Muslim.
"I did anything to try and change how I felt," he said. "I prayed, I read the Koran and went to pilgrimage."
Despite his struggles, Choudhury never turned his back on his faith.
"My religion will never change," he said. "God's in my heart".