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| Britain |
| Crusaders become saints after Muslim complaints |
| 2006-05-21 |
| THE Crusaders, the Christian youth organisation, is having to change its identity after more than 100 years because of claims that its name is anti-Islamic, Marc Horne writes. The evangelical movement, with more than 20,000 members and championed by Sir Cliff Richard, will be known as the Urban Saints from January as schools and charities said its name might be offensive to Muslims. They claimed it was too closely associated with the crusades, the military campaigns in the 11th and 13th centuries to recapture Jerusalem and the Holy Land from the Muslims. “Our new identity is part of a recognition that we are now a 21st-century organisation and are not still stuck in the last century,” said Matt Summerfield, executive director. “There are some people who love the name Crusaders, but we recognise that others get very offended by it, as they think we are harking back to the historical crusades.” Some schools and fundraising groups had rebuffed approaches from Crusaders because of the “emotive” nature of their name, he said. “We have had situations with certain schools who felt they couldn’t run clubs under our name because they have a number of Muslim pupils. People are very wary these days about the possibility of being portrayed as politically incorrect and insensitive to other faiths.” But the name change would not alter the Christian character of the organisation. Rob Rawson, director of Crusaders Scotland, said the name Urban Saints was more relevant. “In the west of Scotland the term ‘saints’ often has Catholic overtones. We are stressing that the name is based on the biblical term — basically a follower of Christ. Crusaders is a strong, almost aggressive name which was fine in 1906, but is certainly not appropriate in 2006.” The rebrand was formally announced at an Albert Hall concert in London last night when 3,500 youngsters watched Christian rock bands and dance acts. Richard, who topped the charts with the religious anthems Saviour’s Day and Millennium Prayer, at first had reservations about the rebrand. “Sir Cliff’s reaction when he first heard the new name was that it would take some digesting,” said Bill Latham, his long-term manager and close friend. “It is fair to say that Urban Saints was not a name that appealed to him immediately. “He had a chat with the executive director of the Crusaders and the reasons behind the new name were explained to him. Now Sir Cliff is more well disposed to it than he was immediately, although he accepts that Crusaders was an outdated name.” Phil Gallie, the conservative MSP, was appalled that the Crusaders felt compelled to abandon a century of tradition. “Anyone with a modicum of common sense would recognise that the word Crusader doesn’t necessarily refer to Richard the Lionheart,” he said. “These politically correct gurus who forced this group to change their name are off their trolleys and should be ashamed of themselves.” Muslim leaders applauded the change. Sajid Quayem, of the Islamic Society of Britain, said: “The term crusader is still seen as offensive by many Muslims and Christians, particularly after George Bush misguidedly referred to the war in Iraq as a crusade. The name Urban Saints is quite groovy and will not cause offence to anybody.” |
| Posted by:Sheling Unomons1998 |
| #7 "The British don't live here anymore" David Price-Jones. |
| Posted by: gromgoru 2006-05-21 17:38 |
| #6 Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war, with the cross of Jesus going on before. Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe; forward into battle see his banners go! Or, if you like: Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord; He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored; He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword; His truth is marching on. Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah! His truth is marching on. There is a reason it's named the "Battle Hymn of The Republic" |
| Posted by: Steve 2006-05-21 17:13 |
| #5 Heh! The Crusaders becoming saints. Depends on how you look at it :-) |
| Posted by: 2b 2006-05-21 10:20 |
| #4 WTF? |
| Posted by: Greamp Elmavinter1163 2006-05-21 10:17 |
| #3 My thoughts entirely ed - no-one's cottoning on yet.. meanwhile Goode Olde England slides down the shitter. |
| Posted by: Howard UK 2006-05-21 08:51 |
| #2 Care to translate all those muslim organizations to English? The Brits are in for a nasty surprise. |
| Posted by: ed 2006-05-21 08:20 |
| #1 Dhimma. Or multiculturalism, I don't know. Is there a difference? |
| Posted by: anonymous5089 2006-05-21 06:50 |