A world famous Lebanese porn actress has been receiving death threats because she is Muslim

By RYAN GORMAN

A 21-year-old porn star, one of the world's most followed, is receiving death threats because she is Muslim.

A dispute that began between Mia Khalifa, of Florida, and her parents has exploded onto the international stage after Arab news outlets published a family statement denouncing their daughter's lifestyle.

"No one in my family is speaking to me," she lamented to Newsweek in a recent interview, but was only the beginning.

The Lebanese-born Khalifa, not her real name, has become a lightning rod as videos showing her performing sex acts while wearing traditional Muslim garments have begun circulating around an audience previously unaware of her chosen career.

"We are probably paying the price of living away from our homeland; our kids had to adapt to societies that don't resemble our culture, traditions and values," the family statement said, according to CNN.

"Hence, we emphasize that we disassociate ourselves from her actions which do not reflect her family beliefs, her upbringing or her true Lebanese roots. We hope that she comes back to her senses as her image does not honor her family or her homeland -- Lebanon."

Khalifa's family fled Lebanon when she was only 10-years-old, she told Newsweek. In the time since, she has earned a B.A. in history from the University of Texas at El Paso and moved to Miami while plying her trade.

The controversial Khalifa is currently ranked as the most popular woman on PornHub, according to an AOL News search of the site's actress rankings.

PornHub (71st) is one of the world's most visited websites, ranking above CNN (73rd), the New York Times (97th) and even AOL (156th), according to web analytics firm Alexa.

Social media has been ablaze with tweets calling for the young woman's life, some have even depicted her being beheaded by ISIS extremists.

Her tattoos, one of which bears the opening lines to the Lebanese national anthem, have also infuriated those back in the motherland. Another is of the Lebanese Forces Cross. Her father was once a special forces fighter, she told Newsweek she got the tattoo "to show him, 'I'm on your side.'"

But she seems mostly uninterested in what is happening there, half a world away.

One person asked her on Twitter how to achieve peace in the Middle East.

"Stop talking about pornstars [sic] that aren't living in your country," she fired back.

Khalifa further shot down the criticism, telling Newsweek: "They're embarrassed I'm 'claiming' them - as if I had a choice. "I was born there."

A writer for the Muslim Girl blog tried to explain the outrage.

"The detail that makes Mia's case so special is the fact that she is from the Middle East specifically - a region that has, in recent history, been ravaged by American wars, vilified in media depictions, and targeted by Western Islamophobia.

"The abundant eroticism from which Mia profits comes from the idea of 'conquering' the mysterious, strange, different, exotic brown woman. Accessing these brown women is the dominant white man's fantasy and ultimate exertion of power."

As Mic News explained, this leaves her in a position where the symbolism of her wearing traditional Muslim garb, bearing Islamic tattoos and performing sex acts on a white male is seen as oppressive, even set against the backdrop of an industry where men's fantasy and women's oppression often go hand in hand –- especially in light of America's recent intrusions into Middle Eastern affairs.

The Muslim Girl blog also took issue with Khalifa wearing a hijab while performing sex acts because it is an inaccurate depiction of Muslim sex since Muslim women don't normally wear the garb while in the act.

But she appears to be unfazed, instead trading barbs with her online foes, many of them Lebanese men.

"Doesn't the Middle East have more important things to worry about besides me?" She asked in a recent tweet. "How about finding a president? Or containing ISIS?"

Not all attention placed on her has been bad.

She appears to be in more demand than ever, according to the dozens of requests she has turned down via Twitter alone.

A song about her, by the hip-hop duo Timeflies, has also managed to go viral.

One of her staunchest allies, a female British-Lebanese author, wrote recently on Facebook that Khalifa is "free to do as she pleases with her body ... and owes absolutely nothing to a country where she happened to be born."

For her part, Khalifa expresses a desire to eventually exit the adult film business.

"It's not something I'd make a career out of, but I'll ride it out 'til I can't do it anymore."