• # install a recent java runtime environment, e.g., jre1.5.0 from http://java.sun.com, and unpack it:

   sudo mkdir -p /usr/java
   cd /usr/java
   sudo sh /tmp/jre-1_5_0-beta2-linux-i586.bin
  

• # go to the mozilla plugin directory, and create a symbolic link from the jre plugin into this directory:

   mkdir -p ~/.mozilla/plugins
   cd ~/.mozilla/plugins 
   ln -s /usr/java/jre1.5.0/plugin/i386/ns7/libjavaplugin_oji.so
  

• # restart mozilla, and check whether the java plugin is mentioned if you click here
• # an excellent HowTo on the installation of the java plugin for mozilla can be found at Hogarth's Mozilla Reference :) - How I Installed Java and Lived to Tell the Tale

A right is not what someone gives you; it's what no one can take from you.
-- Ramsey Clark