‘Jesus rifle’ sight makers agree to stop inscriptions

The company that has been secretly supplying rifle sights to the US military inscribed with coded references to the Bible, as revealed by The First Post this week, has agreed to halt the practice. Trijicon, the Michigan-based company founded by a devout Christian whose idea the inscriptions were, has bowed to pressure from the Pentagon and from New Zealand military leaders.

Like the US Marines and the US Army, the New Zealand army also has troops in Afghanistan and had no idea the rifle sights carried such coded inscriptions as 'JN8:12', which referred to the New Testament Book of John, Chapter 8, verse 12: "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."

As The First Post reported on Tuesday, the inscriptions are in direct contravention of Pentagon rules designed to prevent criticism that the US is embarked on a religious "crusade" against al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

As a result, the Pentagon was bound to review its procurement deal with Trijicon. The company, facing the prospect losing millions in cancelled contracts, agreed not only to stop the inscriptions but also to provide the military with free kits to remove existing ones.

The New Zealand army, which has 220 troops deployed in Afghanistan, was not bound by any anti-faith rules, but Major Kristian Dunne said: "It's put us in an uncomfortable situation. We can see how they would cause offence. We are unhappy they didn't make us aware of it."

The Ministry of Defence confirmed that the British had also bought rifle sights from Trijicon, unaware of the inscriptions. A spokesman for the Church of England said the messages undermined the military effort. ·