TORONTO — David Freeman doesn’t want to say he was frightened or nervous when he received a copy  of the Islamic Post on his doorstep, folded into an issue of the Toronto Star. But he does say he was made to feel “uncomfortable” and he would like the Star to dismiss the paper carrier for his actions.

“I worry whether he represents the tip of the iceberg,” Freeman said last week.

Freeman said a four-page insert from the August 2013 issue of the Islamic Post was included in copies of the Toronto Star delivered earlier this month to his condominium building in the Yonge Street and Lawrence Avenue area, as well as to another building nearby. It  contained the phrases, “No true Muslim fears death” and they “will be presented before the almighty.”

“It was a propaganda piece extolling the virtues of Islam, quoting the Qur’an extensively with much commentary,” Freeman said.

It carried an article on Egypt and “several others that show anti-western bias.” The most egregious was one on Israel saying that despite its small population, Israelis are accused of amassing a huge percentage of the total wealth of the world, he added.

Given news reports about Islamic extremism, Freeman said he wondered whether the carrier “is radicalized, a threat?”

However, one of the Star’s circulation directors told The CJN the incident likely won’t be repeated.

The carrier was acting on his own. Delivery personnel are not allowed to add anything to the paper or make any changes to it, the director said.

The Star received several complaints from subscribers and brought the matter to the attention of the carrier’s employer. “He’s been reprimanded. It won’t happen again,” the director said.

Those assurances don’t calm another recipient of the insert. A woman who saw the material said, “I am afraid. This man is delivering papers here. I just want him out of the building.”

The woman, who did not want her name used, said she had spoken to others who had received the same insert,  “and they are just as upset. People are afraid.”

The woman referred to news reports of Islamic extremists killing innocent people and said of the carrier, “I don’t know him and what his motives are.”

“You move into a building and you think you’re safe, and he’s going door to door dropping papers in the building.”

She said her concerns grew when she learned the delivery man exchanged angry words with the concierge when he was told not to leave the Islamic Post in the other paper. “He actually became quite angry,” she said.

The CJN could not confirm the identity of the carrier and efforts to reach him for comment were unsuccessful. 

Freeman said he received a copy of the Star with the Islamic Post even though he doesn’t subscribe to the Star. He thought at first he received his neighbour’s copy by mistake, but learned they too had received the paper with the same insert.

“It was entirely inappropriate for this delivery person to insert religious and political propaganda into his daily delivery,” said Len Rudner, director of community relations and outreach for the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs. “The Toronto Star has made it clear to the individual that such action is unacceptable. We expect that a repeat offence will entail more serious consequences.

“We are making contact with the Toronto Star to ensure that distributors understand the Star’s policy in this matter,” Rudner added.

Freeman would like to see the carrier dismissed. “I’m uneasy about this guy delivering papers in our building,” he said.