Ayman Sadiq, the founder of 10 Minute School receives death threats

CNI Desk: 

The entrepreneur addressed the threats in a video he posted on Facebook on Sunday afternoon

Entrepreneur Ayman Sadiq, best known for founding online education platform 10 Minute School, has received a slew of death threats and hate speech on social media and media sharing websites.

Some of the hate messages called for boycotting or destroying 10 Minute School, while others urged violence against the founder directly.

The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit  began surveillance after being informed of the incident.

CTTC unit Deputy Commissioner, Saiful Islam, told Dhaka Tribune: “Several videos have been made threatening Ayman Sadiq and 10 Minute School. We contacted Ayman after watching the videos.

“We are looking into who is making these videos and who is spreading them,” he added.

Police sources said the threatening videos may be linked to militant group Ansar al-Islam.

However, the entrepreneur addressed the threats in a video he posted on Facebook on Sunday afternoon.

“I never thought I would have to make a video like this where I give an account of my religion, when my religion should only be between me and Allah. However, when my mother showed me videos on YouTube that were calling for her only son to be murdered … I do not know how anyone else would feel in this situation,” Ayman said in the video.

“This has created an environment in my home where my parents and I are constantly checking on each other to ensure everyone is safe,” he added.

He went on to say the threatening messages began because a former employee who lives in a different country and follows a different religion posted a Facebook status on homosexuality.

Saying that he still could not understand why he would have to give a public account of his religion because of a post by a former employee, Ayman said: “10 Minute School has no propaganda, secret agenda, or religion. We don't preach, we don't want to do anything anti-Islamic and we have no plans to do so.

“I myself have a religion, I am a Muslim, and I try my best to follow Islam,” he added.

He also said it was not his place to comment on the private lives of former employees, and stressed that 10 Minute School had no intention of offending anyone.