Jesus Rifles

The manufacturer of the gunsights for the Army's M-4 rifles likes to stamp biblical quotes on the sights. This has led the guns to be commonly known in Afghanistan as "Jesus Rifles."

Imagine you are a Muslim hired onto the Afghan security forces, you're cleaning your gun one evening when you notice your rifle, given to you by the United States Army has been blessed by Jesus. Would you be more or less willing to turn that gun on the American soldiers that made you a blasphemer?

Echos of the Sepoy Rebellion

In the 1850s, the British in what is now India and Pakistan introduced the Enfield rifle.  To load the rifle soldiers had to open cartridge packages greased with pig lard by biting them. Muslim and Hindu soldiers made blasphemers by their British commanders mutinied. Thousands were slaughtered in the ensuing war.

Oh, the picture above. It's a British firing squad executing prisoners by strapping them to cannons.