By Jennifer Glickel
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — The imam planning to build a mosque and Islamic cultural center near Ground Zero and his family have received death threats, his wife revealed on Sunday.
Daisy Khan, the wife of Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, said on Christiane Amanpour's "This Week" Sunday that she and her husband reached out to the NYPD after having their lives threatened on the phone.
"For the record, my life is under threat," Khan said.
"Check with the police department. My husband's life is under threat. We do not walk around with bodyguards, because we love this country," she added.
NYPD chief spokesman Paul Browne confirmed that Khan had told authorities about the threatening phone calls, the Associated Press reported.
Browne added that police had launched an investigation into the matter, the AP said.
The program on which Khan appeared was a town hall debate entitled "Holy War: Should Americans Fear Islam?" Participants included two people who lost children on 9/11, former FBI agent Brad Garrett, and the evangelical Rev. Franklin Graham.
