Washington Times

Washington Times

Christians Apologize for bloody Crusade; Atonement Comes 900 years After

Hundreds of Christians walked atop the walls of Jerusalem's Old City and apologized to Muslims and Jews yesterday on the 900th anniversary of the Crusaders' bloody pillage of the city.

The "Pilgrimage of Apology" by citizens from the London area was the culmination of a three-year Reconciliation Walk in which approximately 2,500 volunteers from more than 25 nations, hoping to erase centuries of bloodshed with an apology and a handshake, walked in turns along the path Crusaders traveled through Western and Central Europe, the Balkans, Turkey and the Middle East.

"It's unfortunate that we had not appreciated this long ago," said John E. Lynch, professor of history and canon law at Catholic University in Washington. But, he added, "better late than never."

Matthew Hand, director of the enterprise, personally delivered the apology to Muslim and Jewish leaders yesterday in Jerusalem. Alison Muesing, who worked with Mr. Hand, said during a press conference in Washington: "Jerusalem is a long way from home, and to us Americans, history is not the best subject. But I think the people in the Middle East really understand the significance of this walk."

While some religious and political leaders questioned the need for such an apology, Middle Eastern media received the walkers warmly. Lebanese journalist Hisham Shihab said: "Is it necessary? I think yes, because the legacy of the Crusaders is still lurking in the public mind in the Middle East, and it has been conjured up in every confrontation the East has had with the West."

The walk began in Cologne, Germany, in 1996, 900 years after the first Crusaders set out. To ensure the undertaking had the full understanding and support of local Christian religious leaders, representatives of the enterprise met with them in advance to explain what they intended to do and make sure the local people gave their approval.

Clad in matching white, black and gray Reconciliation Walk shirts with the words "We Apologize" on the back, the walkers yesterday went through the site of the Temple of Solomon and prayed for peace and forgiveness.

The walk comes in a decade when Pope John Paul II has apologized for Roman Catholic inaction during the Holocaust and past imperialism of the church, and President Clinton has apologized to American minorities and Africans for Western callousness.

The government of Japan, meanwhile, has proffered a mild apology to Korea and China for past aggression. But so far no leaders in Africa or the Middle East have been willing to state repentance for past transgressions visited upon neighboring tribes or nations.

The First Crusade was exceptionally bloody, launched in November 1095 when Pope Urban II urged Christians to take their swords, wear their crosses and "liberate the Holy Land." The Crusaders took that literally, and wearing white mantles with painted red crosses on the back, fought and pillaged their way to Jerusalem.

Guibert of Nogent, one of the Crusaders who could write, left an account of what he saw on the First Crusade: These men "marched barefoot, baring no arms and had no money at all. Entirely filthy in nakedness and want, they lived on the roots of plants," according to the Daily London Telegraph.

The Crusaders had to resort to cannibalism several times on the trek to Jerusalem. Descriptions of people frenzied by hunger, tearing the flesh from the dead and devouring it are often absent in Western civilization textbooks, but they remain in the works of ancient historians.

When the Crusaders finally entered Jerusalem on July 15, 1099, they killed every man, woman and child - about 40,000 Muslims and 6,000 Jews - within 36 hours.

In the area by the Temple of Solomon, where the killing was most intense, the Crusaders waded up to their ankles in blood, reported the Telegraph.

Copyright © 1999 News World Communications, Inc.

Kristina Stefanova, Christians apologize for bloody Crusade; Atonement comes 900 years after. , The Washington Times, 07-16-1999, pp A11.