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.”
AUSTRALIAN special forces soldiers are using gunsights with biblical references etched on to them as they fight the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan.
The ADF has several hundred of the sights, which are prized by elite troops for their accuracy over long range.
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 Australian Defence Force is investigating how to remove biblical references etched on to gunsights, without damaging the weapons.
The ADF and military authorities in the US, Britain and elsewhere thought the letters and numbers on the sights were simply stock or model numbers until a US soldier in Afghanistan complained to the Military Religious Freedom Foundation that the initials referred to passage 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.
" 'Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life'."
While coalition soldiers were unaware of the significance of the initials, military officials quickly became alarmed that religious extremists could take some propaganda advantage from them being proof the West was waging a crusader war against Islam.
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."
US military rules prohibit religious proselytising in Iraq or Afghanistan and were drawn to prevent criticism that the US was on a religious crusade in its war against al-Qa'ida and Iraqi insurgents.
The sights are used by US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and in the training of Iraqi and Afghan soldiers.
The maker of the sights, Trijicon, has a $US660 million ($725m) multi-year contract to provide up to 800,000 sights to the US Marine Corps, and additional contracts to provide sights to the American Army.
Trijicon issued a statement saying: "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."
Jordan has demanded that Israel hand over some of the famous Dead Sea Scrolls. The kingdom claims Israel seized the scrolls illegally from a museum in East Jerusalem during the Six-Day War in 1967.
Israel seized the scrolls and other antiquities from the Palestinian Museum, which was managed by Jordan in east Jerusalem when it occupied this part of the city in 1967,” said Rafea Harahsheh of Jordan’s antiquities department.
The scrolls were discovered by a Bedouin shepherd in 1947. The famous parchments number 900 documents and biblical texts belonging to the Essenes, a breakaway Jewish sect that lived in the craggy hills above the Dead Sea where the scrolls were discovered.
They provide a rare insight into life in the Holy Land and the emergence of early Christian groups in the area.
The Jordanians recently asked the Canadian government to seize some of the scrolls while they were on display in Toronto.
They have also appealed to the United Nations in support of their case.
Israel has refused to discuss handing back the scrolls. Its foreign ministry told the Jerusalem Post, “Jordan’s occupation of the West Bank was never recognized by the international community and the kingdom relinquished all claims on the territories. The scrolls have no relation to Jordan or the Jordanian people.”
Jordan says Israel seized 14 scrolls kept in a museum in the eastern sector of Jerusalem when its army occupied that Jordanian-controlled part of the city in the 1967 war. Israel annexed eastern Jerusalem soon after the war and now says the entire city is its unified, eternal capital. Israel’s annexation of Jerusalem has not been internationally recognized.
”We are very keen on getting them (the scrolls) by reminding different countries of the international accords on cultural wealth they signed,” Maha Khatib, Jordan’s tourism minister, told the AP, citing the 1954 Hague Convention governing the protection of cultural property during armed conflict.
Earlier this month, Canada refused a Jordanian request to stop the scrolls’ return to Israel, after they were displayed at a Toronto museum. It also refused a similar request made by the Palestinian Authority, according to Canadian diplomats.
Khatib said Jordan has given up hope that Israel would directly give back the more than 2,000-year-old scrolls and now hoped Western nations would return them to the Arab kingdom when they host them in exhibitions.
The scrolls include the earliest known version of portions of the Hebrew Bible and have shed important light on Judaism and the beginnings of Christianity. Their origin is the subject of an insular, but notoriously heated, academic debate.
They will next be exhibited in Milwaukee, Wisc., starting Jan. 22.
KUALA LUMPUR :If a Malaysian High Court ruling stands, Roman Catholics here can resume using the word "Allah" as their translation for God in their local language.
The court on New Year's Eve overturned a three-year-old government ban that prevented the Catholic Church from using the term Allah in its literature.
The Arabic word has been used by various faiths in this Muslim-majority nation for centuries, and the church argues that it is the only suitable way to denote God in the Malay language.
Other options, such as "Tuhan," or Lord, aren't as appropriate, says Rev. Lawrence Andrew, the editor of the church's Herald newspaper. He called Judge Lau Bee Lan's decision a landmark ruling that upholds constitutional guarantees of freedom of speech and religion.
But some people fear the ruling is only the first round in what they see as a longer campaign by a broad spectrum of Muslims to make this religiously diverse, resource-rich nation more Islamic.
Prosecutors could file an appeal as soon as Monday, and Islamic activists already are demanding the ruling be overturned. A government spokesman couldn't be reached to comment.
The linguistic dispute over the word Allah comes amid a flurry of other controversies that have convinced many Malaysians that their country is adopting an increasingly politicized interpretation of Islam. Some analysts fear it could eventually turn off international investors.
In recent months, a Muslim Shariah court sentenced a woman who ordered a beer in a hotel bar to be caned, while a group of Muslim men desecrated the proposed location of a Hindu temple near Kuala Lumpur by tossing a severed cow's head onto the site as police stood aside.
The increasingly religious bent of Malaysia's authorities contrasts sharply with the country's reputation as a holdout for moderation in the Islamic world.
Malaysia's diverse makeup -- around 60% of Malaysia's 27 million people are ethnic-Malay Muslims, while the rest are mostly ethnic-Chinese and Indians -- has encouraged trade and investment.
For a while, the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur were the tallest buildings in the world, and the country hosts a large technology industry in addition to sprawling palm oil plantations and natural-gas reserves.
The character of the country has changed, however. As Islam emerged as a political force across the Muslim world, Malaysian leaders encouraged the spread of Shariah courts and a Muslim-dominated bureaucracy.
The ruling, however, adds to signs that some Malaysians may be ready to push back against the Islamist tide, or at least act to prevent it from becoming more powerful, observers say.
In an interview in November, Prime Minister Najib Razak said the government would resist efforts by Islamist hard-liners to turn Malaysia into a more-radical Islamic nation. "We are going to maintain what we are today -- a moderate Muslim state," Mr. Najib said.
The Herald newspaper filed a lawsuit against the government's ban on it using the word Allah in 2007. Malaysian authorities were concerned that the word would confuse or mislead Muslims, and that the term should be reserved exclusively for Islam.
The ban hindered the Malay-language edition of the Herald, which is read mostly by indigenous tribes who converted to Catholicism and other forms of Christianity. It added to the grievances of Malaysia's religious minorities, who complain they are discriminated against by the Muslim-dominated government -- a claim the government denies.
The ban on Christians using the word Allah was imposed before Mr. Najib became prime minister, and some observers suggest he might not want to pursue the case in order to help improve religious relations.
The Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, a key member of an opposition coalition, already has urged its followers to respect the court's verdict.
Muslim activists have grown more powerful, however, and the government may be unable to resist pressure to appeal the Allah ruling, observers say.
Few would consider Robert Spencer, author and prominent scholar of Islam, to be a radical.
Spencer’s politics fit snuggly within the mainstream of conservative thought. He appears regularly at both Human Events and FrontPageMagazine. His books are published by the stalwart conservative press Regnery.
His rhetoric and demeanor are hardly radical either. Read his books and you’ll find sly, witty humor to complement his often depressing subject matter. His talks are no different. He presents a friendly demeanor. Here’s an example from the recent Restoration Weekend:
So in what manner is Spencer possessed of the Radical Spirit?
To understand this we need to understand what it means to be radical. The first definition of the term (coming from its etymology) sums it up: “Arising from or going to a root or source.”
Thus Spencer’s radicalism soon becomes clear to those familiar with his books and his essential blog, JihadWatch. His principle project is this: to go to the root of understanding Islam. To strip away the obfuscations of the Left and alleged “moderate” Islamist apologists and to really demonstrate just what this religion is all about.
Now he examines the Koran itself. In twelve accessible chapters – each interspersed with sidebars and quotes in Idiot’s Guide fashion – Spencer gives a crash course on the Koran’s origins, its interpretation and its contents. He explains how the book was assembled and why it’s so difficult to understand. (It’s not even written chronologically!) He also shows how pervasively anti-Christian, anti-Semitic, misogynistic, intolerant, and violent attitudes are embedded within this book revered by more than a billion people.
The first is Destructive Generation: Second Thoughts about the Sixties, the classic critique of the New Left by Peter Collier and David Horowitz. Destructive Generation is a dense book that overwhelms with the sheer number, variety, and intensity of its facts and arguments. One completes it almost exhausted. Spencer’s Infidel’s Guide produces a similar effect. The author packs his text with so many quotes from the Koran, the Hadith, and prominent Muslim commentators that it’s profoundly difficult to argue with him. (Which perhaps explains why the usual anti-Spencer retort is to slur him as a bigot and not bother to even quote him.)
Spencer’s approach to the Koran is identical to Ehrman’s to the New Testament. He’s a nonbeliever who seeks to look at a holy text critically, examining how it was made and what the text itself actually says – not how it’s allegedly divine and infallible. Yet why is Spencer the “bigot” of the two? Why is it acceptable to look at Christianity critically but “racist” to do so for Islam? Why have we built an advantage to our enemies right into the fabric of our “politically correct” culture?
And it’s here where we return to understanding Spencer as a radical. Because Spencer is not just a radical intellectual – willing to take an idea to its root no matter how maligned the left-dominated intellectual culture might make him. He’s also a radical activist. Consider another of the American Heritage Dictionary’s definitions of radical: “One who advocates fundamental or revolutionary changes in current practices, conditions, or institutions.”
Possessed of the conservative’s understanding of human nature and loyalty to individual liberty he knows the only way one can both effectively and morally change society is to change people’s ideas. And so the “fundamental or revolutionary change” that he advocates is a revision in the way Americans understand Islam.
Let us support him as he pursues this intellectual revolution. Our very society is dependent upon its success.
Destructive Generation is a dense book that overwhelms with the sheer number, variety, and intensity of its facts and arguments. One completes it almost exhausted.
Spencer’s approach to the Koran is identical to Ehrman’s to the New Testament. He’s a nonbeliever who seeks to look at a holy text critically, examining how it was made and what the text itself actually says – not how it’s allegedly divine and infallible.
Yet why is Spencer the “bigot” of the two? Why is it acceptable to look at Christianity critically but “racist” to do so for Islam? Why have we built an advantage to our enemies right into the fabric of our “politically correct” culture?
And it’s here where we return to understanding Spencer as a radical. Because Spencer is not just a radical intellectual – willing to take an idea to its root no matter how maligned the left-dominated intellectual culture might make him.
He’s also a radical activist. Consider another of the American Heritage Dictionary’s definitions of radical: “One who advocates fundamental or revolutionary changes in current practices, conditions, or institutions.”
Possessed of the conservative’s understanding of human nature and loyalty to individual liberty he knows the only way one can both effectively and morally change society is to change people’s ideas. And so the “fundamental or revolutionary change” that he advocates is a revision in the way Americans understand Islam.
Let us support him as he pursues this intellectual revolution. Our very society is dependent upon its success.
International pressure sometimes works. Some unexpected good news in an update on this story: "Freedom for imprisoned Christian 'apostates,'" by Chelsea Schilling for WorldNetDaily, November 19
After millions of prayers and numerous petitions from around the world, two Iranian women jailed for no other reason than being Christian were released from a Tehran prison today.
Maryam Rustampoor, 27, and Marzieh Amirizadeh, 30, were imprisoned for 259 days - since March 5. They were repeatedly told to recant their faith and that they would be executed as "apostates," solely because they are Christians.
But now Open Doors USA has confirmed the women have been released from the notorious Evin prison with no bail, a rarity for Christians released from prison in Iran. [...]
Compass Direct News noted that the women may still face charges of proselytizing and "apostasy," or leaving Islam.
An Iranian source told Compass the Iranian government faced intense public pressure for imprisoning the women.
"It was from the international pressure, and also the government couldn't handle it anymore," said the source. "Already their detention was illegal. At the same time, the government wasn't ready to prosecute them for apostasy. They already have many headaches. They cannot handle everything."
According to Facebook groups that support the women, Rustampoor and Amirizadeh had been participating in religious gatherings and handing out Bibles prior to their detention. Iranian security officials searched their apartments in March, confiscated their Bibles and arrested them.
As WND reported, Rustampoor and Amirizadeh appeared before a court in Iran and were charged with "crimes of apostasy, and propagation of the Christian faith." In a display of raw courage, they told a government prosecutor that not only are they Christian, it is up to God, not a bureaucrat, to whom He talks.
According to Elam, a dramatic part of the hearing came when they refused to deny their Christian faith.
They explained that God had convicted them through the Holy Spirit.
"It is impossible for God to speak with humans," Haddad, a deputy prosecutor identified only by his surname, stated.
"Are you questioning whether God is Almighty?" Amirizadeh asked him.
To which Haddad then replied. "You are not worthy for God to speak to you."
"It is God, and not you, who determines if I am worthy," she said.
Haddad earlier had asked if the women were Christian.
"We love Jesus," they replied.
"You were Muslims and now you have become Christians," Haddad stated.
"We were born in Muslim families, but we were not Muslims," the women said.
The deputy prosecutor asked about their regrets, and they said, "We have no regrets."
"You should renounce your faith verbally and in written form," he warned.
LEHIGH ACRES, Fla:A religious Christian in Florida tried to send Fort Hood massacre suspect Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan a bouquet of flowers and a note that calls him a "hero," but the man got a knock on his door from the FBI instead, according to a Florida television station.
Dan M. Ross told NBC 2 he was guided by his faith when he tried to send yellow roses to the accused shooter, who has been charged with 13 premeditated killings in the Nov. 5 attack on soldiers waiting to deploy from Fort Hood.
Twenty-nine others were wounded, including Hassan, who, doctors say, may be permanently paralyzed.
Ross ordered flowers and requested a card that read "In God's eye, and those who submit, you are a hero!" But instead of completing the $59.95 order, the owner of the Texas flower shop said he reported it to the Army base and the FBI.
Ross, a Vietnam vet, said he has kids in the military, but he wanted to reach out as a show of respect.
With a Bible close by, a declaration of his Christian beliefs and a website outlining his visits by an angel, Ross said in a television interview that he believes we should all love our enemies.
Ross said he's hopeful some kind of good can come out of the shooting at Fort Hood and hopes the incident will bring an end to the conflict between religions.
The local sheriff's office did confirm the FBI visit to Ross' home, but agents for the FBI will not comment on the visit or the investigation.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Malaysian authorities have confiscated more than 15,000 Bibles in recent months because they referred to "God" as "Allah," a translation that has been banned in this Muslim-majority country, Christian church officials said Thursday.
The alleged seizure of the Bibles, imported from neighboring Indonesia, is certain to reignite complaints by religious minorities that their right to practice their faiths freely has come under threat as the government panders to the Muslim majority.
A growing sense of discrimination among the minorities is chipping away at Malaysia's reputation as a harmonious multiethnic nation that practices a moderate brand of Islam.
The Rev. Hermen Shastri, general secretary of the Council of Churches of Malaysia, said authorities seized a consignment of 10,000 copies sent from Jakarta to Kuching in Sarawak state on Sept. 11 because the Indonesian-language Bibles contained the word "Allah."
Indonesian language is similar to Malaysian language, both of which use "Allah" as translation for God in both Islamic and Christian traditions.
Another 5,100 Bibles, also imported from Indonesia, were seized in March, said an official from the Bible Society of Malaysia, who asked not to be named for fear of angering the government.
A Home Ministry official said he was not aware of the seizures. He said he couldn't be named without his superiors' clearance.
Malaysia has banned non-Muslims from using the word "Allah" in their texts, saying the word is Islamic and may upset Muslims.
About 60 percent of the country's 28 million people are Malay Muslims while 25 percent are ethnic Chinese and 8 percent are Indians. Many of the Chinese and Indians are Christians.
The Roman Catholic Church is challenging the "Allah" ban in court, saying it is unconstitutional and discriminates against those worshipping in Malay language. The case has been stuck in preliminary hearings for almost two years.
Shastri said the church council is concerned over the continued detention "of our holy book, which is depriving congregations ... and denying them the use of their Bible."
"For most of the Christians, this is not an issue of going against the authorities. They have been using (the word "Allah") for a long time," he said.
Church officials say Allah is not exclusive to Islam but is an Arabic word that predates Islam.
Besides the Bible seizures, Malaysia has been embroiled in other religious disputes. Some were over the conversion of minors to Islam and the religion of deceased people who are said to have converted to Islam secretly before their death. Hindus have also protested the demolition of several temples by authorities.
This is much welcome and long overdue. For years we have chronicled here how Muslims use the blasphemy laws to victimize non-Muslims in Pakistan. But given the way things are going there these days, this initiative is unlikely to succeed.
"All Christian Parties Conference to End Blasphemy law set to launch movement," from the Pakistan Christian Post, October 18 (thanks to Jeffrey Imm):
Islamabad: October 18, 2009. (PCP) Pakistan Christian Congress PCC extended invitation to leaders and organizations which are struggling to repeal blasphemy law in Pakistan to participate in All Christian Parties Conference on October 25, 2009, at Rawalpindi Press Club.
The invitations were given to Christian members of parliament who raised voice to repeal blasphemy law in House while Christians selected by Pakistan Peoples Party PPP and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz group PML(N) were decide not to invite including Shahbaz Bhatti, Federal Minority Minister imposed on Christian by PPP.
General Zial-ul-Haq formulated Hadood Ordinance and introduced Blasphemy law but Section 295 B and C of Pakistan Penal Code were legislated during PPP and PML(N) regimes.
The Blasphemy is subject to capital punishment in Pakistan and used against Christians on business rivalry and personnel grudges.
The blasphemy law is also being used by Muslim majority in Pakistan to desecrate Holy Bibles and burnt down Churches.
On accusations of blasphemy Islamic militants have destroyed hundreds of homes and killed dozens in year 2009, while children, women and elders were burnt alive.
The federal government of Pakistan and Punjab provincial government failed to secure life and property of Christians and to adopt necessary measure to stop violence against Christians....
The Koran, the holy book of Muslims, and Hadith (fatwas of the prophet Muhammad) contain numerous passages that are incompatible with the UN Declaration of Human Rights to which, by the way, all Muslim states have officially subscribed.
One might argue that the Bibleand the Old Testament of both Christians and Jews also contain atrocious passages that go against human rights. (For further information, click here.)
However, while Christians and Jews ignore these atrocious passages and look at them in a historical context, Muslim believers, especially radical Muslims, do not. They are convinced that both the Koran and Hadith are sacred scriptures; the word of Allah and must be followed and implemented to the letter.
Suicide and car bombers are a clear case in point. Many Muslims believe that Sharia (which includes both the Koran and Hadith) must be introduced and applied all over the world as the only best law for all human beings.
Here are some examples which clearly show that Islam is diametrically opposed to universal human rights.
While Article 18 of the UN Declaration of Human Rights prescribes: “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief ….” the Koran prescribes the opposite.
It’s curious that the sacred text of only one of the two faiths behind the exhibition was available for defacing:
A publicly funded exhibition is encouraging people to deface the Bible in the name of art — and visitors have responded with abuse and obscenity. The show includes a video of a woman ripping pages from the Bible and stuffing them into her bra, knickers and mouth.
The open Bible is a central part of Made in God’s Image, an exhibition at the Gallery of Modern Art (Goma) in Glasgow. By the book is a container of pens and a notice saying: “If you feel you have been excluded from the Bible, please write your way back into it.” ... The exhibition has been created by the artists Anthony Schrag and David Malone, in association with organisations representing gay Christians and Muslims.
So why did these brave gays not also offer a Koran for scribbling critiques? It’s not as if gays couldn’t have a bone to pick with the faith that inspires some regimes to do this to young men just like them.
Note: Muslims Against Sharia do not advocate desecration of the religious texts. The article is merely posted to illustrate hypocrisy and warped sense of political correctness of the organizers as well as gross misuse of the public funds.
* Exact number of death threats against the creators of "Fitna" is unknown. Counter is provided for dramatization purposes. * No death threats against the creators of "Schism" have been documented as of the last update of this post.
TAMPA -- A 21-year-old Clearwater man was arrested at Tampa International Airport this weekend after security personnel found a box cutter in a hollowed-out book, authorities said.
About 7:30 a.m. Sunday, airport security ran Benjamin Baines Jr.'s backpack through an X-ray machine and saw the image of a box cutter, according to a report from the Transportation Security Administration.
When searching the backpack, a security officer found a book titled "Fear Itself." The book was hollowed out, and the box cutter was inside.
After Baines was read his rights, he said his cousin had cut away the pages to make the hollow section in the book. Later, reports state, he said he had hollowed it out himself to hide money and marijuana from his roommates.
Baines told officers he was moving to Las Vegas and forgot the cutter was in the book.
Officers found books in the backpack titled "Muhammad in the Bible," "The Prophet's Prayer" and "The Noble Qur'an." He also had a copy of the Quran and the Bible.
Several sheets of paper in the backpack included rap lyrics that referred to police, narcotics, weapons and killing. Baines told officers he is a rapper who writes his own lyrics and that rap music writers need to "play the part," the report states. Read more ...
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Comments are slightly moderated. MASH does not necessarily endorse every opinion posted on this blog.
AN American company says it will stop adding biblical references to the so-called Jesus sights for rifles used by Australian soldiers. 
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