A British boxing star stirred anger from the far-right after posting a picture of himself taking part in Muslim prayers at a mosque in the UAE.

Anthony Joshua, an International Boxing Federation (IBF) heavyweight champion, tweeted on Tuesday the photo of himself and his friends praying. It has since been retweeted more than 18,000 times.

Joshua, who won gold at the London 2012 Olympics, wrote "prayer was a solid foundation" alongside hard work, luck, and talent, in the tweet accompanying the picture.

Besides luck, hard work & talent.. Prayer is a solid foundation. It was nice to join my brother as he led through afternoon prayer (asr) 🙏🏾 pic.twitter.com/KJ4f2lu3mP — Anthony Joshua (@anthonyfjoshua) January 17, 2017

Joshua was raised a Christian but follows no particular religion, according to an interview he did with the British news agency, the Press Association, last year.

Nevertheless, many on Twitter vented anger at him for associating himself with Islam.

"He is a great fighter but I am shocked and disappointed by his support for such a vile religion," wrote one person with the username 'RightWingRoy'.

Another user, Sam Halpin, wrote "You have lost my support and i hope klitscho (sic) irons you out", referring to Joshua's upcoming bout with Ukrainian boxer Vitali Klitschko.

@anthonyfjoshua @TRobinsonNewEra you have lost my support and i hope klitscho irons you out — Sam Halpin (@samhalpin) January 17, 2017

The negative response, however, soon gave way to messages of support for Joshua and others mocking the significance of Twitter users withdrawing their support for a famous sportsman.

"People abusing Anthony Joshua for visiting a Mosque probably paid tribute to Muhammad Ali when he died last year," said ring announcer Ricky Wright.

This don is hating on Anthony Joshua for praying at a mosque. He spent £70 on a Pogba shirt but does this clown know Pogba is Muslim???? 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/VV1ubjw35R — H (@hmalik__) January 17, 2017

"Question the society we live in when people are moaning over #AnthonyJoshua in a mosque. Get a grip of yourselves seriously!" said another user named Aubrey.

The Twitter storm comes amid rising far-right and populist sentiment across the Western world, with a lot of angry rhetoric aimed at Islam and Muslims.

Anthony Joshua is absolutely gutted that derek, 32 from slough is unfollowing him because he's a Muslim. Absolutely gutted — CJH (@ConnorJ09) January 17, 2017

In the US, President-elect Donald Trump has promised to ban Muslims from entering the country, while in France, the leader of the far-right Front National, Marine Le Pen, has emerged as a front-runner in this year's presidential election.

Media coverage of Islam is seen as one of the root causes of anti-Muslim sentiment.