Nadine Osman

An imam in Canada has received a death threat and calls for the Dar-Al Tawheed Islamic Centre near Toronto to be burned down.

Imam Ibrahim Hindy said he received an email threatening his life on April 14, the email included an image of a lynching.

Hindy is a member of a school board’s multi-faith group in Mississauga, a city just outside of Toronto.

Last month, a board meeting was the focus of a violent demonstration against a school allowing Muslim students to pray on Fridays. Pages of the Qur’an were torn and strewn on the floor by one man during the meeting.

Hindy has spoken out to defend the school board but he said he never expected he would be the target of such hate.

“I never imagined that it would take off and that people would attack me with such vitriol,” he said.

“People started attacking me online and from there I received a death threat in my email address. They were also on social media, people talking explicitly about burning down the mosque where I work at,” added Hindy.

Hindy said he contacted police, who promised patrols around the mosque. A spokesman for Peel Regional Police said that police are investigating the incident.

Peel Regional Police Constable Harinder Sohi said, “We are treating this incident very seriously and have allocated the appropriate resources which include increased patrols at the Islamic Centre.”

Following the violent outbreak at the school board meeting in March, rules were enacted to safeguard staff and students. Attendees must now sign-in, provide identification and agree to be recorded on video, school board officials said.