Fears of 'religious war' message as British troops in Afghanistan get rifles with Bible codes

By PAUL THOMPSON and IAN DRURY
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 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".'

Controversial equipment: U.S. forces already use the gunsight

The Ministry of Defence said last night it was 'not aware' of the biblical markings on the 400 Advanced Combat Optical Gunsights, bought as part of a £1.5million package.

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.

The inscription JN8:12 on the Army's new gunsights is a reference to John, chapter eight verse 12

Former U.S. air force officer Michael Weinstein, who is now a lawyer and secular campaigner, said the inscriptions played into the hands of those who claimed the U.S.-led coalition was a religious war against Islam.

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.'

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

An MoD spokesman insisted the biblical references were not a ' dealbreaker'.

'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.