Christians Under Attack

Christian groups and politicians condemned the education bosses and accused them of ­“double standards”.

The officials have told headteachers to ban jewellery except in “exceptional circumstances” when schools need to be “sensitive” towards other faiths. The “exceptions” include lockets worn by Muslims and Hindu bracelets.

But even Muslim leaders have join­ed the condemnation, arguing that all religious groups, including Christian­s, should be treated the same.

The guidance, issued to headteachers in Croydon, south London, has echoes of the row last year over Nadia Ewedia, the British Airways employee who eventually won her long battle to wear a cross at work.The latest guidelines make no mention, under “exceptional circumstances,” of Christian symbols, such as crosses or the increasingly popular chastity rings that some pupils choose to wear.

A spokesman for the Lawyers’ Christian Fellow­ship yesterday said: “We have had numerous examples recently of the rights of some faith groups being tolerated while the rights of others, generally Christians, are not.

“Where rights are in competition, some rights win out. So we have a situation where gay rights trump Christian rights and in some areas, Muslim rights seem paramount.”

POSTED BY/http://www.express.co.uk