Bolton boxer Amir Khan has left his fans divided after posting to social media about having a waxwork figure made of himself at Madame Tussauds and asking fans whether it would be right given his Islamic faith.

The former world champion took to his X (formerly Twitter) account to ask his two million followers for their thoughts on the matter.

He said: “I have a question for you. In 2010 I was invited to Madame Tussauds in London.

“However my friend, Sajeed, who was working for my management company at the time, turned down the opportunity.

“He mentioned that, as Muslims, we should not create a duplicate representation of ourselves.

“Is there any validity to this belief, or was he simply being negative? I have noticed that other Muslim athletes have participated in similar projects.”

The 37-year-old accompanied his post with a picture of Muhammed Ali’s waxwork figure, which is currently on display at Madame Tussauds.

Referenced by Khan is the Islamic belief that rules against re-creating images of living beings, including clay-made statues. The belief is held by some Muslims, but not all and holds different interpretations.

Khan’s post was met with mixed responses, with some users siding with his friend and claiming that the wax figure would be forbidden by Islamic Law.

User @Waqas_Ali said: “Alhamdulliah you have a good friend as he stopped you from major haram. Having a wax image is haram.

“It is haram to make statues. Whoever does that is trying to match the creation of Allah and thus deserves to be cursed.

“We ask Allah to keep us safe and sound, and to guide us.”

Other X users were in favour of the waxwork though.

User @phayes88 posted in response to Khan’s tweet: “It’s a celebration of your achievements in my mind, I don’t know why you would turn it down.”

@thomasson_grand added: “Make your own choices, Amir, you know what it best for you.

“Only people who have made a big impact on the world get that offer, I’d say you have missed out on an opportunity to be recognised with other legends.”

Other users advised Khan to seek further advice from Islamic scholars, rather than his followers.

One user summarised: “You should seek advice from Islamic scholars, imam for this issue I don’t think so you’ll find the accurate answer here.”