A Muslim electronics engineer who developed five patents for IBM claims the computer maker fired him because of his religion and that managers at the company mocked him for refusing to eat during the Ramadan fast and once told him to ignore Islamic law and clean a knife that had been used to cut pork.

Mahmoud Mousa, who calls himself a "Jordanian Muslim American," was employed at IBM's microelectronics plant in Burlington, Vt., from June 2003 to December 2005, when he was fired because of his religious beliefs, according to a lawsuit Mousa filed last month in U.S. District Court in New York.

Mousa says IBM's stated reason for the firing -- that he had failed to show up for work -- "was a pretext to mask the motivating factor behind his termination -- discrimination on the basis of his religion and/or national origin," according the suit.

Mousa claims that he was subject to discrimination and anti-Islamic comments and behavior from two different managers while working at IBM's Burlington operations. On one occasion, a manager of non-Muslim, Indian origin criticized Mousa for taking time out for Friday prayers, asking him "Why are you doing this?", according to court records. [Link]