British boxing superstar Amir Khan has been stunned by the abuse he received after sharing a family Christmas photo.
The former unified light-welterweight world champ posed alongside his wife and daughters, all dressed in matching pajamas with reindeer antlers, near a Christmas tree in an Instagram post published on Wednesday.
The touching photo was soon targeted by commenters, who rushed to remind Khan that Christmas is not a Muslim tradition. Some of the comments read “fear Allah” and denounced Khan as a “bloody disgrace to our religion”, while others accused him of committing shirk, the sin of idolatry in Islam.
The 33-year-old boxer, who was born in Britain into a Muslim Pakistani family, delivered his response to haters in a tweet on Thursday.
He said: “So shocked by all the hate I’m getting on my Twitter and Instagram for wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and posting a picture with my family in Christmas outfits. Just want to tell those people ‘I don’t give a f**k’”.
Khan met a similar reaction in the last two years after he posted Christmas-themed pictures on social media. In 2017, he even received death threats over a photo of a Christmas tree in his home.
Liverpool star Mohamed Salah, also a devout Muslim, has likewise come under fire for a photo of his family in front of a Christmas tree.