Ebrima Bayo, 39, from Huddersfield, said he had been denied hot food given to fellow soldiers when he broke his fast and had been forced to sign a waiver that committed him to spend extra time in the gym, claiming it was necessary to ensure he was fit.
"My understanding was they were trying to break my willpower. You said you were going to fast, but we are going to make life difficult for you and eventually you will crack, buckle and stop," Bayo said.
The former private described being taunted and harassed by colleagues when he went out for Friday prayers during the holy month. "When we would put on our mosque attire, we would get people calling us names, trying to be funny, saying: 'What have you got underneath that?"" he said.
The discrimination took place while Bayo was in Cyprus in 2017 with the Royal Logistics Corps and eventually led him to leave the army, despite it being a job he had aspired to since he was young.
This story is from the July 04, 2023 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the July 04, 2023 edition of The Guardian.
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