AN IMAM has received death threats after saying Muslims needed to accept the theory of evolution.

A lecture given recently by Dr Usama Hasan, vice chairman of the Masjid Madrasah al-Tawhid mosque in Leyton High Road, was disrupted by protesters who shouted for his execution, according to the national Guardian newspaper.

Dr Hasan’s comments were made in an opinion piece he wrote for the national Guardian back in 2008, but rising tensions mean he has now also been forced to step down from giving Friday prayers.

In the piece, Dr Hasan wrote: "...One problem is that many Muslims retain the simple picture that God created Adam from clay, much as a potter makes a statue, and then breathed into the lifeless statue and it became a living human.

"This is a children’s madrasa-level understanding and Muslims really have to move on as adults and intellectuals."

Dr Hasan has also come under fire for expressing his views on the right of Muslim women not to cover their hair.

According to reports, several fatwas have been issued by Muslim scholars denouncing Dr Hasan.

It is believed he has stepped up security at his home where he lives with his wife and four children.

Police are monitoring the situation.