For years, many Islamic clerics have been arguing that the US's war on terror is a "holy war" against Islam. Now, those critics of US foreign policy have more ammunition to argue their point.

A Michigan supplier of sights for high-powered rifles has long been etching subtle references to Jesus on equipment it sells to the US military, possibly in contravention of army regulations that forbid religious proselytization.

Trijicon Inc., of Wixom, Michigan, describes itself as a company that "strives" to follow "biblical" morality, and the company is not shying away from its controversial and long-standing practice of enscribing references to New Testament passages on its rifle sights.

The news that Trijicon etches biblical quotes on its sights was first reported at the Accurate Shooter blog on Friday, and expanded upon by ABC News on Monday.

The company sponsors God's Great Outdoors, a radio ministry for Christian hunters on which the company's sales director, Tom Munson, has been interviewed. Trijicon's wordmark is listed as a "featured sponsor" on the radio show's Web site.

One rifle sight obtained by Accurate Shooter shows what appears to be a serial number that ends "JN8:12." That's a reference to John 8:12, which states, "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.'”

Another rifle sight is encoded with "2COR4:6," which refers to Second Corinthians 4:6, a passage that states, "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."

Trijicon reportedly has a $660-million contract to provide rifle sights to the US Marine Corps, and a number of smaller contracts including a $33-million deal to provide machine gun sights to the Navy.

Trijicon's director of sales and marketing, Tom Munson, told ABC News that the inscriptions "have always been there" and do appear on weapons sold to the US military. Munson said there is nothing "wrong or illegal" with the practice of etching the Biblical passages on rifle sights, despite a ban on religious proselytization by US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"US military rules specifically prohibit the proselytizing of any religion in Iraq or Afghanistan and were drawn up in order to prevent criticism that the US was embarked on a religious 'Crusade' in its war against al Qaeda and Iraqi insurgents," ABC News reports.

But many observers of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan say that proselytization by US forces happens anyway.

"It's wrong, it violates the Constitution, it violates a number of federal laws," Michael Weinstein of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation told ABC. "It allows the Mujahedeen, the Taliban, al Qaeda and the insurrectionists and jihadists to claim they're being shot by Jesus rifles."

Trijicon's Munson dismissed the concerns of Weinstein's group by saying it comes from a group that is "not Christian," ABC News reported.

"We believe that America is great when its people are good," the company states on its "about us" page. "This goodness has been based on biblical standards throughout our history and we will strive to follow those morals."

Many commenters on the Accurate Shooter blog took the company's side on the issue.

"I always consider whether my optics are manufactured by Christians or heathens," writes commenter Brandon. "Christians have a much better track record when it comes understanding and promoting the quality scientific research necessary to give us an edge on the battlefield than companies run by atheists."

"I am glad that the Bible references are there," writes commenter Alan Smithee. "If these people were right with Jesus, they wouldn’t see the need to drive airplanes into buildings and saw the heads off tourists!!!! ... We need to do our part (along with Israel). Thank God for Trijicon, and may we prevail in this epic battle!"

Nightline’s Brian Ross on Monday filed a hyperbolic report on "secret Jesus codes" that are on the sights of rifles used by the U.S. military in Afghanistan. Ross featured two voices highly critical of the fact that Bible versus can be found on these weapons, but no clip of the opposing side. Ross repeated, "Michael Weinstein runs the Military Religious Freedom Foundation which claims thousands of members in the US military who he says are endangered by the secret Bible codes."

On the MRFF website, the organization trumpets, "MRFF breaks major news story." Ross featured Weinstein in four separate clips, but never once mentioned whether he was fed the information, nor does he note the harshly anti-religious tone of the group. The website currently touts this fund-raising pitch: "The wall separating church and state in the U.S. military has collapsed. MRFF desperately needs you to Help Build The Wall!"

Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/scott-whitlock/2010/01/19/abc-s-brian-ross-hyperventilates-over-secret-bible-codes-military-gu#ixzz0dAx1CqqE

Ross also highlighted retired Major General William Nash. Summarizing the opinion of Trijicon, the gun company that produces the rifle, Ross explained, "The Trijicon spokesman said there was nothing wrong or illegal about adding the Biblical references to the military sights." Then, instead of allowing viewers to actually hear from the company, he included this clip from Nash: "But I find something wrong with it and I think our government should find something wrong with it."

Ross described the "secret" code: "...The sights on their gun, including this one used to train soldiers in Iraq, contain a secret coded reference to New Testament passages about Jesus Christ. Here, JN 8:12, a reference to the Book of John, 8:12, which reads in part, ‘Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying I am the light of the world.’"

The reporter proceeded to expand the topic into other examples of a "clash in the U.S. military over Christian symbols and preaching in Iraq and Afghanistan." He added, "Two years ago in Afghanistan, American documentary filmmaker Brian Hughes saw boxes of New Testament Bibles published in Afghan languages."

ABC managed to allow comment from Trijicon in its online story. Wouldn’t it only be fair for Brian Ross to have done that on Nightline?

A transcript of the January 18 segment, which aired at 11:45pm EST, follows:

MARTIN BASHIR: It was during his first overseas tour as president to the Muslim country of Turkey that Barack Obama said the United States is not and will never be at war with Islam, which is why our next story is provoking so much controversy. It concerns inscriptions that refer to biblical texts on weapons being deployed by American forces. Here's our Chief Investigative Correspondent Brian Ross. Brian?

BRIAN ROSS: Martin, to prevent the suspicion, the United States is conducting a Christian crusade against Muslims, members of the US military in Iraq and Afghanistan are strictly prohibited from proselytizing, promoting any religion, faith or practice. It's called General Order One. But apparently one of the Pentagon's big suppliers never got the memo. Some soldiers call them Jesus rifle. That's because the sights on their gun, including this one used to train soldiers in Iraq, contain a secret coded reference to New Testament passages about Jesus Christ. Here, JN 8:12, a reference to the Book of John, 8:12, which reads in part, "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying I am the light of the world."

MICHAEL WEINSTEIN (MILITARY RELIGIOUS FREEDOM FOUNDATION): They know it's wrong and it's not just wrong. It's an outrage.

ROSS: Michael Weinstein runs the Military Religious Freedom Foundation which claims thousands of members in the U.S. military who he says are endangered by the secret Bible codes.

WEINSTEIN: It is a big deal. We've had many, many soldiers reach out to us. Some are oblivious but many, many others, in the thousands, aware well aware that it's there. They described it as a sick and a very scary joke and that it allows the Mujahadin, the Taliban, al Qaeda, the insurrectionists and Jihadists to be claiming that they're being shot by Jesus rifles.

ROSS: Others sights have references to the New Testament Books of Matthew, Revelation and the Corinthians such as this scope used by Special Forces encoded with another reference to a verse about the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. The rifle sights are produced by the Trijicon Company of Wixom, Michigan which has at most $1 billion in Pentagon contracts. A company spokesman says its founder, Glyn Bindon, a devout Christian, began the practice years ago and it has continued since Bindon's death in 2003. The Trijicon spokesman said there was nothing wrong or illegal about adding the Biblical references to the military sights.

MG WILLIAM NASH (RET): Well, that's fine. But I find something wrong with it and I think our government should find something wrong with it.

ROSS: Retired Major General William Nash commanded the 1st Brigade of the 3rd Armor Division during Desert Storm in Iraq. He is now an ABC News consultant.

NASH: There's a lot of organizations that provide Bibles to soldiers and Torah and other, and even copies of the Koran are given out to our soldiers. I have no problem with that. But I do have problems with military equipment being labeled in such a way that it seems like it's our God against their God.

ROSS: General Nash says the Pentagon should make the company remove the biblical codes.

NASH: They should fix them all. They do a modification on the sights and take off those inscriptions. And, and if they fail to do that, they should be penalized monetarily.

ROSS: At the Pentagon, the Army and the Marines told ABC News they were unaware of the biblical codes until we contacted them.

GUN REVIEWER (YOUTUBE VIDEO): One of the really cool things that I like about this sight.

ROSS: But on gun enthusiast and military websites, the presence of the New Testament references seem well known, as this gun reviewer pointed out the passage from the Book of Job.

GUN REVIEWER: I love it. I love it. Yes, Trijicon, those guys are Christians and, you know, they, they're just - on all of their different sights, they have verses on there. So just a little neat side note. And for those of you who aren't Christians, well you know, whatever, get over it. All right, so anyway.

WEINSTEIN: We received information just very recently from one of our clients indicating that the rifle was referred to as the spiritually transformed firearm of Jesus Christ.

ROSS: Even with the general order against religious proselytizing, the Biblical references on the rifle sights is only the latest example of a clash in the US military over Christian symbols and preaching in Iraq and Afghanistan. Two years ago in Afghanistan, American documentary filmmaker Brian Hughes saw boxes of New Testament Bibles published in Afghan languages.

BRIAN HUGHES (DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER): It was clear that those Bibles were there for the purpose of being distributed to the Afghan people, not to other soldiers, not to other people on the base but to Afghan civilians. So it was clear that they were prepared to operate outside the boundaries of General Order One.

ROSS: Filmmaker Hughes recorded US Army Chaplain Gary Hensley in a provocative sermon at Baghram Air Base.

LTC GARY HENSLEY (US ARMY CHAPLAIN): You know, the Special Forces guys, they hunt men basically. We do the same as Christians, we hunt people for Jesus. Hunt them down. Gets the hound of heaven after them. So we get them in the kingdom. Right? That's what we do. That's our business.

ROSS: Now the tiny Biblical codes on the U.S. military rifle sights used by the Army and the Marines as tiny as they are, seem certain to raise the issues again.

WEINSTEIN: We're training the Iraqis and the Afghans, the members of the military on these very same weapons. They're training on weapons with biblical references from the New Testament on there. It's unbelievable. This is how we're going to win friends.

ROSS: It's not known precisely how many of the rifle sights with the secret Bible codes are now in use by the military. But the Trijicon Company just received a $660 million contract to be the sole supplier to the US Marine Corps and its sights are the preferred choice of the US Special Forces. As of tonight, the military was still trying to figure out what if anything it plans to do about that. Martin?

—Scott Whitlock is a news analyst for the Media Research Center.

Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/scott-whitlock/2010/01/19/abc-s-brian-ross-hyperventilates-over-secret-bible-codes-military-gu#ixzz0dAxKsgR4