If you follow me on Twitter, you may have caught wind of a barrage of tweets unleashed last night. This post is to explain why as many of you were left horrified and/or confused.
First, have a look at this. (Granted the Daily Mail is beneath contempt sometimes with its right-winged views and readers’ opinions but just focus on the story.)
Now international boxing star Amir Khan is an avid tweeter and from a young age, he’s spoken of his roots and religion, proud to be British and a muslim, a great role model amongst all the negativity which surrounds the religion and its followers.
However, stories emerging of him tweeting from the holy city of Makkah in Saudi Arabia while he ought to be concentrating on his pilgrimage and during the month of Ramadan left me a little flummoxed. His argument is he’s sharing this holy experience with his legion of followers, many of whom aren’t muslim. What I don’t understand is the act in which he is doing this.
If you’ve been fortunate enough to visit this place (as I have), cameras are banned. (Photographing in public is not allowed in Saudi Arabia especially of women.) Security search you on arrival and if you’re found to be carrying these (or God forbid, something worse), you will either have your possessions confiscated or you will be ejected.
When undergoing Umrah or Hajj you are supposed to leave all your worldly goods behind and focus on the rigorous and demanding yet spiritually rewarding experience. Sneaking a camera phone in is surely breaking the rules and it certainly spells out you don’t have pure intentions at heart.
Also, taking pictures when other pilgrims are trying to fulfill their religious duties causes inconvenience and annoyance with the offenders pushing their way through or just slowing the crowd down, possibly physically harming not to mention it’s an invasion of privacy (others in the background getting photographed without their permission). It ruins the sanctity of these holy places and I believe it even invalidates the purpose going on a pilgrimage to Makkah and Madinah.
So when my attention was brought to a tweet posted by a person called Saj Mohamed (part of Amir Khan’s entourage and evidently a very close friend) responding to people condemning him for tweeting pictures from inside the holy city of Makkah when photography is strictly prohibited, I was quite frankly filled with disgust, noteably the tone and language he used in his message:
“Go screw urselves” – nice. I must say I was amused someone told him to get a proper job and stop riding on the tailcoats of Khan. His response struck me as arrogant and patronising, and I reminded him he ought to be concentrating on the task he’s set out to do, not turning this into a holiday photo album/self-promotion act. And this is the response I received:
What a charming, young man. Considering I didn’t make one derogatory remark at him or insult his appearance, I am somewhat bewildered he went to the trouble of dissecting my clothes, hair and skin tone. My picture is in black and white and not that it’s relevant, I am wearing a floor-length dress.
Retweeting is a wonderful thing as is screen-grab so while Mr Mohamed has swiftly deleted all insulting tweets such as the above (and the following one) as a result of self-embarrassment and quite frankly, looking like a douche with no backbone to his argument, I can show you the evidence:
Mr Mohamed lacks many things – decorum, respect, humility and good manners. He is very good at something – completely missing the point. I am touched many people sent angry tweets in my defence, far more people than the 3 single supporters who bombarded me with attacks on my appearance and character. My favourite ones are from this delightful example of a lady:
If the name Saj Mohamed rings a bell, it’s probably because of this. Katie Price is a woman who has built her fame and success from taking her clothes off. She’s also a celebrity Mr Mohamed has not been ashamed to be linked to so that’s alright. Double standards, much?
I think it just goes to show how much of a hypocrite he really is. One minute acting all pious and the next a foul mouthed barrage of tweets, from Makkah of all places whilst performing Umrah as well, it really is a disgrace. Saj is clearly delusional that he thinks he is doing it for his followers.
Seeing it first hand, it was unfortunate how impressionable young ‘muslim’ girls joined in the abuse and all in the name of islam, yet they continued with the tirade and completely missed the point and failed to make a coherent argument. I was more surprised that non of his followers questioned his actions but actually deemed them acceptable.
By deleting his abusive tweets, I think he realised and was probably overcome with shame and embarassement and thats why he decided to make a quick exit.
What…in….the….actual….hell? That is absolutely disgraceful. Shame on him, not only for his decision to tweet from a place of worship, but for his horrible language when addressing you. Why is it that men always rip apart women’s appearance when they can’t think of a logical argument? And that woman? I have no words.
omg!! that’s awful, i hate it when people get nasty over social networks, its horrible.
You made a valid point and they should accept that, what’s the point of taking it to low levels by attacking your appearance?!?
He’s clearly a hypocrite, but tbh in times like this where people are plain ignorant and mean as well as hypocritical, you can only pray for them.
As for the whole subject of taking pics in Makkah, I’m not sure of the rules as I’ve never been but I did think its nice of him to tweet it.. possible dawah maybe? God knows best though, I’m noone to judge!
At the end of the day, it’s good you voiced your opinions and you didnt deserve the abuse hurled at you, so you’re a bigger person for not rising to it, just carry on doing what you do =)
At the end of the day, it is all about respect. Amir didn’t respect fellow Muslims and his side-kick didn’t respect you. Being abusive and offensive shows that they really don’t have something even as basic as intelligence to offer up. And that vile comment from another woman is probably the worst of all.. men have been derogatory to women from the beginning of time when cornered…(not that it is okay or acceptable) but that woman just looks like a troll who likes to stick her nose where it isn’t needed or wanted. I’m sorry that they were all so unpleasant – it really isn’t a nice feeling at all whether it is to your face or via a tweet. They’ve shown themselves up of course, not you X
They feel guilty so they’re dishing out shit. Doesn’t mean it won’t stick to them.
amir khan and his posse and disgraceful people, tweeting such from a the most holy place, what is the point of going to perform hajj/umrah if you have no intention of changing your ways, on his twitter he claims to feel like a “new person, completely fresh like a new born” yet he’s still spouting crap??
His tweets show very much that “money talks” in my opinion, he’s making that pilgrimage to show off, considering that he hasn’t stoopped spouting nonsense, even on umrah.
He should be ashamed of himself, no doubt katie price is proud of what her boys are tweeting…
Well done Sheeenie, for standing up for is right, and don’t forget, anyone attacks and myself and hundreds other’s will show the cowards who they’re messing with xxx
I was disgusted last night to be honest. It’s sad to see that even in these modern times, some males can’t help but insult women. It’s a low no one should stoop to. Be a man and show some respect- especially in a sacred place like Makkah.
What a god-awful bastard…please excuse my language, but really, men these days are such arrogant pigs. Most men;(not all, but a lot) have no respect for women. I think you should be really proud of yourself for not steeping to his level and throwing ignorant insults back at him. You are truly now one of my role models! And as for that ignoramice- “Mandy-Lynn”, I hope karma gets that arrogant b*tch…
I actually don’t believe this! I completely missed this on twitter and am disgusted to read the responses from Khan entourage/ friends. Having the opportunity to visit the Holy city is a humbling one, and one to be cherished. It is a journey undertaken with nothing else but faith and passion for it – from head to toe. Many die without experiencing this, and to read the hypocritical, nasty tweets being sent from the Khan party actually sickens me. I’m sorry for the abuse you also had to tolerate, you most definitely handled it well and with dignity. Well done and thanks for sharing. xx
I’ve already tweeted you to express my disgust but I feel like I have to say it again, this whole affair is disgraceful, I hope Amir, his side-kick and that woman feel utterly ashamed with themselves, it makes me feel sick to the stomach that you were abused in this way!
It sounds like Saj’s visit to Makkah was a waste of time…why bother if he can’t even get basic human decency right? To use that kind of derogatory language from a holy place, or even after praying, just shows he’s not really understanding what it’s all about.
Amir Khan needs to think about the kind of people he’s associating with because this guy is undoing all of his hard work with his disgusting online abuse.
We briefly tweeted yesterday so you already know how abhorrent I found this man’s language and attitude towards you. Such a shame that some men feel it’s okay to dissect a woman based on her appearance and yet they don’t think about their own actions. So sad.
I think you handled the whole thing with grace and dignity xx
I was really shocked when i witnessed this on twitter. But i must say you have handled the situation really well. I wouldn’t know what to do if i was you. I admire you for the way you’ve handled he situation and i admire you more for blogging about it.
Him (and his fellow tweeters who came to his rescue) are the ones who look like idiots, not you.
Using such language in the holly month and against a fellow muslim is utterly disgraceful, he should be ashamed of himself. This clearly just shows to you how ‘commited’ he is to his religion, slating another muslim and what not.
Utterly disgraceful.
xx
This is just disgusting!!!!! You should contact all the newspapers and show the country what a disgusting filthy pig he is!!!! Such a lowlife! Sorry that you were exposed to such a vile man.
Thank you everyone for your comments. You’ve all made interesting points. He has deleted all his offending tweets including the “go screw urself” one and is now tweeting peaceful, humble messages yet he continues to send ‘holiday snaps’ of himself and his gang posing in front of the holy shrine that is the Kabbah while other pilgrims are trying to perform their duties! I noticed he hopes to be forgiven (for what, I don’t know) yet he hasn’t been humble enough to apologise. It’s the coward’s way out, I would certainly respect him if he said sorry. No good praying for forgiveness – a requirement of your duties is to apologise for any wrong doing you’ve done.
I don’t think I’ll be taking the matter to the papers. This post will always be available to read to whomever finds it. Besides he’s a nobody.
I am overwhelmed by the huge number of people who sent me messages on Twitter and to those who retweeted the link, reaching at least 20,000 people (and counting). Thank you, everyone.
Iv got to say I disagree with your comments, Saj was merely sharing his experience with people who have been unfortunate enough to visit the holy place. Cameras are not banned, as I myself have taken a photo with a security guard inside the holy mosque! Think ppl need to lay off saj, he did the right thing n tbh I’d probably do the same.May Allah reward him for his contribution n for sharing his pics, it certainly makes me want to go there and the more people he influenced the better.
But do you agree with his foul outburst? I think you’ve neglected to comment on that part of the article.
Granted, he should never have insulted you personally but rather explained his point in a..well “better” way. But hey, were all human. My point does still stand though.
ive just read your post and agree with majority of what you have written. I was one of the first to comment on amir khan’s facebook page,regaring taking pictures,tweeting etc. I dont wana come across as judgemental, but if he can take time off fb,twitter etc whilst training, im sure he can do it whilst on pilgrimage aswell. But only allah sw knows best,im sure their intentions were clean, even saj’s. In relation to saj making insults about your appearance, that was disgraceful especially considering when he made those comments he was in saudi. You are the better person by not falling to his level, in not reacting to such insults. Islam tells us that women are to be treated as queens. Its just a shame that us muslims are unable to act upon the word of allah and the hadith of the prophet pbuh.
reckon saj might have a point but the way in which he spoke about it is just ridiculous. shows a complete lack of intelligence.
I’ve met Amir and he is genuinely a naive guy which comes across quite blatantly in his interviews. There is no malice or self promotion intended in his actions, you just have to be patient with him. Take the good and leave the bad. Don’t forget, he is only a boxer. It’s the public who rightly or wrongly turn him (and other sports stars) into role models.
As for the derogatory comments from mandy lynn, her profile picture speaks for itself in its pretentiousness
@unknownbruva I think you’re confusing Saj and Amir Khan?
I think that the people defending this individual should think about how they would feel if he spoke to their sister, female cousin, wife, mother etc in this way. That’s the real issue. What he said and the words he used. To say ‘we are all human’ is not a satisfactory response. Would you say ‘we are all human’ if it was your loved one? I believe not.
For someone on Umrah it was not an appropriate way to behave – not in my opinion anyway. The language used was foul, there’s no other way to desrcibe it.
It is hard to confuse Amir and Saj. They are one and the same. You are as the company you keep goes the saying.
They are both representative of the society in which we live. WE make them celebrities, WE expect them to be role models so it is US who must accept the consequences whether they be good or bad. These guys aren’t to blame. It’s us.
Sorry bro but that’s not a satisfactory response IMO! That’s making excuses for someones behaviour and allowing them not to acknowledge their mistakes or take responsibility for their actions. I am responsible when I mess up. Saj is responsible for when he messes up. End of.