Update: US company removes Bible references from 'Jesus sights'

AN American company says it will stop adding biblical references to the so-called Jesus sights for rifles used by Australian soldiers.

Trijicon triggered an international uproar when US soldiers in Afghanistan discovered that letters and figures they thought were simply stock or model numbers referred to passages from the Bible.

One example was JN8:12 which turned out to be a reference to chapter eight, verse 12 in the Book of John: “When Jesus spoke again to the people he said ‘I am the light of the world’.”

The company has now issued a statement saying it had stopped putting the inscriptions on its sights.

It said it would also give the Pentagon, free of charge, 100 free kits which could be used to remove the references from sights that had already been issued to troops.

The ADF has several hundred of the sights, which are prized by elite troops for their accuracy over long range, and it is now working out how to remove the scriptural links from them with wrecking the equipment.

Their use by US, British and New Zealand troops has raised alarm among military leaders that it could reinforce views among extremists that the West is waging a crusade against Islam.

The Michigan-based family-owned company said it had for two generations been working to provide America's military men and women with high quality, and innovative sighting systems.

“Our effort is simple and straightforward: to help our servicemen and women win the war on terror and come home safe to their families.

“As part of our faith and our belief in service to our country, Trijicon has put scripture references on our products for more than two decades.

“As long as we have men and women in danger, we will continue to do everything we can to provide them with both state-of-the-art technology and the never-ending support and prayers of a grateful nation.”

The ADF confirmed yesterday it had been unaware of the meaning of the inscription when the sights were issued to troops.

“The Department of Defence was unaware of the significance of the manufacturer's serial number,” the spokesman said. “The sights were procured because they provide mature technology which is highly reliable, in wide use by our allies and best meet Defence requirements. Soldiers are confident in the utility of the sight and the positive and proven effect which it is having on operations.”

The spokesman said Defence was conscious of the sensitivities over this issue and was assessing how to address them.

Another inscription was 2COR4:6, which is an apparent reference to Second Corinthians 4:6 of the New Testament. The passage reads: “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

The Australian

Sheikh's offensive letters 'preaching peace'

A SELF-STYLED Muslim Sheik has chained himself to the steps of a Sydney courthouse in a bid to convey his message of peace.

Sheik Haron appeared at the Downing Centre Local Court today charged with sending harassing letters to the families of dead Australian soldiers, The Daily Telegraph reported.

As the Daily Telegraph revealed last month, Sheik Haron - whose real name is Man Monis - allegedly sent the letters over two years, devastating the families of seven Diggers who died in Afghanistan.

One letter was addressed to a widow, care of a funeral home and he apparently accused some of the dead Australian soldiers of being "criminals", "killers" and "murderers" fighting a war of invasion.

Outside court today, Sheik Haron refused to apologise to the recipients, urging the letters be taken in their entirety.

He attacked Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and former PM John Howard who have "made Australia unsafe".

"I don't want Australia to be unsafe," he said.

"Which country has attacked us? If a country attacks us unjustly, I'm happy to go to war."

In a lengthy sermon to the waiting cameras, he also waved an Australian flag, as a number of people watched on.

Represented by Chris Murphy and Adam Houda, Sheik Haron did not enter a plea, had his reporting conditions reduced and will face court again in January.

Source: The AustralianMan Monis
Latest recipient of the Distinguished Islamofascist Award

Muslim 'cleric' Sheik Haron allegedly sent hate mail to Australian war widows

By Kara Lawrence, Tim Vollmer and Janet Fife-Yeomans

THEY are young Australians who paid the ultimate price, losing their lives at war - but now their families have allegedly been targeted by self-styled Muslim cleric Sheik Haron in an anti-war campaign.

Finally, after an alleged two-year letter-writing spree that has devastated the families of seven Diggers who died in Afghanistan, Haron faces criminal charges, The Daily Telegraph reports.

In the letters he allegedly wrote to grieving parents and wives of the Diggers - one addressed to a widow, care of a funeral home - he apparently accused some of the dead Australian soldiers of being "criminals", "killers" and "murderers" fighting a war of invasion.

Haron has penned letters to the families of Michael Fussell, Gregory Sher, Mathew Hopkins, Brett Till, Jason Marks, Luke Worsley and Benjamin Ranaudo.

One of Haron's letters was allegedly hand-delivered to Brett Till's widow Breeanna at his funeral.

Counter-terrorism police arrested Haron, 45, - an Iranian-born immigrant who claims to be a Muslim spiritual leader - at his Croydon Park home on Tuesday.

Sydney's Joint Counter Terrorism Team, comprising Australian Federal Police and NSW Police, also visited two other addresses, at Campsie and Green Valley.

Haron was charged on Tuesday night with seven counts of "using a postal service or similar service to menace, harass, or cause offence" and was granted bail to appear in court next month.

Yesterday, he told The Daily Telegraph he would fight the charges and was seeking legal advice.

"I was in the custody of the AFP for a while, a few hours ... then I was released. I believed that I am innocent, of course. Later I can explain everything."

Haron has posted the letters he allegedly sent on a website attributed to him.

In a letter to Gregory Sher's family, he allegedly wrote: "I feel bad that you have lost your son but I don't feel bad that a murderer of innocent civilians has lost his life."

Sher family friend Ben Hirsh said he was aware a number of grieving families had allegedly received anti-war letters.

"Getting any anti-war letters is disgusting," he said.

Private Luke Worsley's father John said: "You have just got the news of the loss of your son and then this happens."

News.com.au

H/T: David F.

Greg Sheridan: Gillard prime ministerial in Israel

Greg Sheridan, Foreign editor | June 25

RIAD Malki, the foreign minister of the Palestinian Authority, would like to see Australian troops posted to the Gaza Strip as peacekeepers. More than that, he would be happy, in the event of an eventual Israeli withdrawal from Palestinian territories, to have Australians posted in the West Bank.

Malki told me this in a meeting in Ramallah earlier this week. Specifically, he would like Arab, probably Egyptian, forces to come into Gaza, to stop rockets being fired at Israel and, in his words, to "stop any Israeli incursions into Gaza".

Then, he says, the Palestinian forces in Gaza should be professionalised. But to provide security, he says the Palestinians "are willing to accept international forces, NATO, American or Australian forces, in Gaza or the West Bank. We will go the extra mile. We will take away any excuse from the Israelis (not to withdraw from Palestinian territories)."

At the moment, Malki's proposal is unrealistic. The Palestinian Authority cannot guarantee its own security in Gaza. Egypt, let alone the US or Australia, would be unlikely to commit troops and the Israelis would not accept a restriction on their right to self-defence.

Nonetheless, in the unlikely event that a peace deal is reached between the Israelis and the Palestinians, the question of international forces to monitor the deal and perhaps to guard borders will become a real one.

Given Australia's remarkable history of involvement in the Middle East, the question of our participation should be given serious consideration by Canberra.

The fact that the Palestinian foreign minister suggested Australian soldiers reflects the high reputation of our troops. But it also demonstrates that Australia's deep friendship with Israel has not remotely diminished our credibility with the Arab world.

Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard and former treasurer Peter Costello are visiting Israel as part of the inaugural Australia Israel Leadership Forum, organised by Melbourne businessman Albert Dadon.

Gillard deserves particular praise for attending the forum, as she was subject to a nasty campaign from the Left to try to intimidate her out of going. The Left internationally is going through one of its periodic bouts of trying to isolate Israel. This is one of those demented moments where allegedly progressive opinion believes it's the height of creativity to engage the mullah dictatorship in Iran, as it steals elections and pursues nuclear weapons, but wrong to visit a democratic ally such as Israel.

The Rudd government has stood four square against this nonsensical position, as demonstrated in Kevin Rudd's long telephone conversation with Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, earlier this week.

Rudd, who follows the Middle East with forensic attention to detail, discussed Netanyahu's speech responding to US President Barack Obama's Cairo address to the Muslim world. Specifically Rudd and Netanyahu discussed the prospect of a Palestinian state and the situation in Iran. Read more here...

Source: The Australian