- Christian nurse Victoria Wasteney, 37, prayed with her ill Muslim co-worker
- She offered Enya Nawaz, 25, a shoulder to cry on when she was unwell
- She also gave Miss Nawaz book about a Muslim who becomes a Christian
- But Miss Nawaz complained her colleague had tried to convert her
- Miss Wasteney was suspended for nine months and warned about her faith
- Now she is taking the hospital to a tribunal over religious discrimination
Christian nurse Victoria Wasteney, 37, claims she was sacked after praying for a Muslim colleague
A Christian nurse claims she was sacked for 'harassment and bullying' after she prayed for a troubled Muslim colleague.
Victoria Wasteney, 37, a senior occupational health therapist at a mental hospital in east London, offered support to a fellow nurse when she was unwell.
Miss Wasteney says she put her hand on young colleague Enya Nawaz's knee and asked if she could pray for her, saying: 'God, I trust You will bring peace and You will bring healing.'
The pair had been on friendly terms for months, so Miss Wasteney, who describes herself as a 'born-again Christian', was furious when she was suspended from work for 'harassing' Miss Nawaz.
East London NHS Foundation Trust suspended her for nine months on full pay, gave her a written warning and told her not to discuss her faith with co-workers.
But the nurse, from Buckhurst Hill, Essex, will on Tuesday begin a legal challenge against the trust for discriminating against her for her religion.
Miss Wasteney, who worked at the John Howard Centre - a mental hospital in Homerton, east London - told the Sunday Telegraph: 'I'm not a hard-line evangelical.
I'm not anti-Muslim.
I believe in freedom of speech, but I've always believed we should be sensitive to one another's beliefs and feelings.'
The nurse had previously invited Miss Nawaz, who had personal and health problems, to her church and had given her the book I Dared To Call Him Father, which is about a Muslim woman who converts to Christianity.
They had a shared interest in the issue of human trafficking, a problem Miss Wasteney's church was trying to tackle, but now she fears society has reached a point where colleagues cannot invite each other to events 'for fear of offending'.
When Miss Nawaz, 25, came to her Christian colleague in tears as she was due to go into hospital for treatment, Miss Wasteney said she offered her a shoulder to cry on.
She said: 'She was very emotional and tearful and was talking to me about her fear of dying. I put my hand on her knew to comfort her – asking her if that was all right – and prayed with her, asking God to heal her.
Miss Wasteney gave Miss Nawaz the book I Dared To Call Him Father, about a Muslim woman who converts to Christianity
'It was a natural and open thing for me to do and she didn't object in any way.'
But Miss Wasteney claimed that over the following weeks Miss Nawaz came under pressure to file a complaint against her on religious grounds.
In June 2013 she submitted an eight-page document accusing Miss Wasteney of trying to convert her to Christianity, telling her she would not recover from her illness and 'laying hands on her'.
Since handing in the complaint, Miss Nawaz has left her job and Miss Wasteney has left the hospital to take up a position at the trust's head offices.
Miss Wasteney denies all the accusations and says she has been singled out for her strong faith.
In documents handed to the coming week's tribunal, she said: 'My professional career has been jeopardised, my reputation damaged, relations with colleagues ruined and I was subjected to an ordeal of persecution dressed as "disciplinary action" for an extraordinarily long time.
I was discriminated against because of my faith.'
East London NHS Foundation Trust said it was inappropriate to comment ahead of the tribunal.
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