A man was asked not to wear his cross necklace, a symbol of his faith, even if it s tucked under his T-shirt, but Muslim employees were free to wear their headscarves. The man feels that he was negatively discriminated because of his religion, and he is not the only one.

As a Christian, George Tannouri always wears a chain with a cross around his neck and feels that the necklace is an integral part of his identity. He put the chain under his T-shirt at work as safety regulations did not allow workers to wear any jewellery.

After three months of working in the warehouse, his superiors at Kungsangen s Zalando company, operated by Ingram Micro, gave him two options: he will either remove his necklace, or he must quit his job. Tannouri decided to leave because he could not accept that he was not allowed to wear his cross necklace, a symbol of his faith, while his Muslim co-workers could continue wearing their hijabs without any objections. Some Muslim employees even wore earrings.

For safety reasons, employees were not allowed to wear watches, jewellery and any other accessories inside the warehouse where he worked. George Tannouri did sign a binding agreement pledging to follow company restrictions,  but he still couldn t understand why a cross tucked beneath his shirt would pose a risk while his Muslim co-workers are allowed to wear headscarves. It its explanation, Ingram Micro stressed that there are so many Muslims working at the firm that hijabs are an exception to safety regulations, provided that the garment does not hang loose.

Mr Tannouri feels that he was discriminated against by his workplace for his religion. In his opinion, if Muslim employees can wear a hijab, Christians should be allowed to wear a cross, as that too can be tucked under the clothing. Speaking to Varlden Idag, the Syrian man stressed that his people have had to endure so much during the course of history, and this is what they have to experience in Sweden.

George Tannouri said his case is just one of many in Sweden where there is a growing number of examples of Christians being treated unfairly. He said he was tired of how Christians are treated in Sweden, and opined that it is now more accepted to attack his religion than the others.

Sweden has already witnessed a similar incident, albeit in a public school, where a 15-year-old boy was forced to remove his cross necklace during a photo-op because the photographer thought it would be offensive in the picture. The student was uneasy about having to take off his necklace, partly because it symbolised his Christian religion and partly because he felt it was a violation of his personal property.

Students following other religions were not forced to take off any garments related to their faiths. Muslim girls, for example, could leave their headscarves on, which the boy described as discrimination, arguing that if he was forced to take off the cross, other religious symbols should have also been removed.

The boy s father complained about the existing double standards in Sweden, saying that while Christianity is treated increasingly negatively, other religions are given preferential treatment. He also pointed out that the incident would have received much more attention, had it happened to a Muslim student.