Man threatens to set hijab-wearing Muslim woman on fire in US

Chicago: A Muslim woman in the US was approached by an unidentified man who yelled at her and threatened to set her on fire if she did not remove her hijab, prompting police to probe the hate crime incident.

"The case is being investigated as a hate crime," Diane Brown of the University's Public Safety Department, was quoted as saying by the New York Daily News.

A woman reported that an unknown man approached and yelled at her, making references to her religion and told her to remove her hijab in Ann Arbor in Michigan, last week.

The woman, who was not named, complied and left the area, officials said.

The suspect remains on the run and is described to be in his 20s or 30 with an unkempt appearance, foul body odour and athletic build, police said.

Police also reported the man to be intoxicated. It was not immediately clear if the suspect had a connection with the woman.

The Ann Arbor Police Department did not respond to a request for comment, but it's actively investigating the incident, according to campus officials.

The incident comes after President-elect Donald Trump's historic win in US elections, which ignited protesters to revolt across the country.

Last week, a Muslim high-school teacher was told to hang herself with her headscarf in a handwritten anonymous note she received in her classroom.

The Council on American-Islamic Relation, a Muslim advocacy group, believes the surge in Islamophobia could be attributed to the President-elect's victory.