Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus are backing a Christian electrician who is facing the sack for having a palm cross in his company van.
Colin Atkinson has already been found in breach of company rules on ‘neutrality’ for having the small palm cross on the van’s dashboard and he is set to have a full disciplinary hearing next month.
Mr Atkinson is being supported by the Christian Legal Centre.
Touchy
One Muslim group, the Muslim Institute, said it could not see any problem in displaying the cross.
Dr Ghayasuddin Siddiqui, from the group said: “I really don’t think people should become so touchy about these things. You have to respect other people’s feelings and beliefs.”
Niranjan Vakhaira, President of the Hindu Charitable Trust in Leeds said: “I don’t see how anyone can take offence at this cross, the employers are definitely in the wrong.”
Respect
And a spokesman for the Sikh Education Council said: “Sikhs believe in freedom of expression and freedom of belief with respect.
“As long as what someone is doing is doing it with respect for other people we would support their right to practice as they see fit.”
Housing Minister Grant Shapps also expressed his support on Twitter for Mr Atkinson, saying it was wrong to “suppress Christianity-or other faiths”.
Equality
Mr Atkinson’s boss at Wakefield and District Housing (WDH) is allowed to display a poster of Che Guevara in his office.
And a WDH official has told Mr Atkinson’s union representative that it would allow a Muslim female employee in a burka in its official colours.
Mike Judge, Head of Communications at The Christian Institute, said the “injustice” was plain to everyone except the “equality bureaucrats”.
No bitterness
He continued: “The company will allow an Islamic burka but not a Christian cross. When it comes to equality Christians are pushed out into the cold.”
Bosses at WDH claim they are working on a compromise with Mr Atkinson.
Mr Atkinson has said he expects to be sacked but has added: “I don’t have any bitterness. I am standing by what I believe to be right in the eyes of the Lord.”
Ancient
Earlier this week an editorial in the Daily Mail criticised the fact that WDH have allowed a picture of Che Guevara but not the small Christian cross.
The paper said: “And we call this a Christian country? What a twisted world we live in, when the ancient symbol of salvation is condemned as ‘upsetting'”.