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The Level 3 curriculum asks students to color 10 boxes, each representing a branch of Islam. One of the boxes is labeled: Jihad. Later, it explains that jihad “is not just with a weapon, it can be with your writing and speech also,” as well as an internal struggle.

“To think that this is happening right here in Canada, in our backyards, in our own country where we promote tolerance, diversity, understanding, human rights, and bringing those types of concepts over the from the ancient world if you will, its just unbelievable,” said Avi Benlolo, President and CEO of the Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre.

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs also raised concerns about the curriculum in a press release issued Monday, as well as in a complaint to the Toronto school board.

“Using religion to promote hatred among youth is not just offensive and abhorrent – it shows a stunning disregard for Canada’s basic values of decency and tolerance,” said David Spiro, Greater Toronto Co-Chair of centre.

Ms. Jessa said the complaint about the material was made on Thursday. “We told them that we took the book off the website and yesterday [Sunday] we had a meeting and we looked at it and we are correcting it,” she said. “It was an error.”

She said the school was a “subsidiary” and the “parent company” had dealt with the matter. The Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre said the response to its complaint had come from the Islamic Shia Ithna Asheri Jamaat, an Islamic centre on Bathurst Rd. in Toronto.

The centre’s resident scholar could not be reached for comment on Monday. But in an email to Mr. Benlolo on Saturday, the group’s honorary secretary, Mazahair Dhirani, promised an internal review.

“In the meantime, we have asked the book to be removed from the web portal and there should no distribution of any physical material (if available) until the necessary changes have been made to the text,” he wrote.