British soldiers in Afghanistan are to be issued with guns inscribed with references to passages from the Bible - risking handing a propaganda victory to Muslim extremists.
The inscription JN8:12 on the Army's new gunsights is a reference to John, chapter 8, verse 12, which says: 'When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" |
The sights for the Sharpshooter assault rifle, bought this week to boost the fight against the Taliban, are etched with the characters JN8:12.
This is a reference to chapter 8 verse 12 in the book of John, which reads: 'When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life".'
Critics said references to New Testament scriptures could be used by extremists to persuade Afghans that UK forces see their work as a crusade.
LibDem defence spokesman Willie Rennie said: 'It's pretty shoddy that the MoD missed this.
'It may be used by some of our enemies as evidence to convince its followers that we are engaged in a religious war between Christianity and Islam.'
The equipment was produced by U.S.-based Trijicon, which was founded by a devout Christian.
Bible inscriptions: One of the military sights in use with the code of 2COR4:6, which refers to the New Testament's Second Corinthians, chapter 4, verse 6, which says: 'For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ' |
However, Inayat Bunglawala, of the Muslim Council of Britain, said the religious inscriptions were 'fairly harmless'.
Andrew Burgin, of the Stop The War Coalition campaign group, said: 'It is rather bizarre to have any kind of religious inscription on a weapon. Maybe the MoD should have been aware of this.'
'Our priority is to buy the best-performing equipment available on the market,' he said.
The Sharpshooter rifles provide a greater range than the Army's current SA80s, and also than the AK47s used by insurgents, reducing the danger to marksmen.
Commentary of Holy Qur'an http://al-islam.org/tahrif_quran/
Du'a - http://www.duas.org
Islam - http://www.al-islam.org
Free Islamic Books -http://www.winislam.com
http://www.islamic-message.net/English/index.htm
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