US gun-maker creates ‘Crusader’ rifle to fight Islamic State

A Bible verse is inscribed on the rifle's magazine-well to prevent it from being used by ‘Muslim terrorists’

Worried about US made guns falling into the hands of Islamic State militants in Iraq, a Florida-based gun maker has created an AR-15 “Crusader” rifle designed for use in Christian hands only, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

The assault rifle, made by Spikes Tactical, comes with a Bible verse inscribed on its magazine-well aiming to prevent it from being used by the ‘Muslim terrorists’.



Talking to the Orlando Sentinel, the company’s spokesperson Ben “Mookie” Thomas said the idea for the Crusader rifle came to him after realising that the militants belonging to Islamic State “were using American made and American purchased weapons that had been in Iraqi hands.”

Read: The American illness

"Off the cuff I said I'd like to have a gun that if a Muslim terrorist picked it up a bolt of lightning would hit and knock him dead," he said.



Thomas further said that the basic aim behind writing a verse from the Bible, “Blessed be the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle” on the rifle was to ensure that only like-minded people would purchase and use the weapon.

Besides the verse written on one side, the AR-15 assault rifle has a Knight's Templar Long Cross – a symbol of the Christian Crusaders to reclaim the Holy Land from Muslims -- laser-etched on the other side.



The rifle, which carries the price tag of $1,395, has drawn immediate condemnation from the Council on American-Islamic Relations of Florida (CAIR-FL) soon after its launch on Wednesday.

"Is it designed for Christian terrorists?" asked Hasan Shibly, executive director of CAIR-FL, who said out of 205 mass killings so far this year in the US alone, only one involved a Muslim.

"We need to have a conversation on gun violence. There has been utter silence from gun manufacturers. It's time for them to stop trying to make a buck on this."

The article originally appeared on Orlando Sentinel