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School Changes Team Name Out Of Concerns From Muslims
LOS ANGELES, June 28 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - A $70-million Catholic high school in San Juan Capistrano city in Orange County, California, has decided to change its team name, the Crusaders, out of deference to Muslim sensitivities, the Los Angeles Times reported earlier this week.
Administrators at Junipero Serra High School, due to open next year, said that the change came after supporters of the school expressed concerns that the name and the logo featuring two swords and a shield with a cross on it, could be offensive to Muslims, victims of the bloody crusades in the Middle Ages. The Crusader name for the Catholic school was selected by board members and then presented to school supporters and financial backers.
"Some people loved the name, and some people expressed concern," said Lisa J. Tremble, Serra's director of marketing. Acknowledging their supporter's concerns, the school board held several meetings including one Monday to discuss the issue. The school's officials are now soliciting suggestions for a new name from parents, students and supporters.
Muzammil Siddiqi, president of the Islamic Society of Orange County and the Islamic Society of North America said, "We need to be much more careful in picking names. It reminds [Muslims] of all the horrible stories and the brutality. Now that we're living close to each other, we all need to be careful what kind of terminology we use."
The Crusades, which began in the 11th century, were military campaigns undertaken by Christians who wanted to capture the Holy Land from Muslim control. They led to brutal massacres of Muslims throughout Muslim lands.
Shabbir Mansuri, founder of the Council on Islamic Education in Fountain Valley, said that he hopes the latest Crusader issue, which he terms minor, won't damage the cordial relations between Muslims and Catholics.
"The crusades are part of our history, but you can't put everything in black and white," Mansuri said and added that the Crusades eventually led to "great exchanges of thoughts and ideas" between Muslims and Catholics. Mansuri volunteered to speak at the new school when it opens next year.
Mascots of schools and universities, in general, have caused controversy in the U.S. before. American Indian mascots, especially that of the University of Illinois at Champaign, is one such mascot. In contrast, however, quite a few high schools across the nation have adopted the Crusader team name without generating any controversy or complaints from Muslims. Last fall, Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL, alma mater of televangelist Rev. Billy Graham, decided to change its 70-year-old Crusader mascot even though no Muslim protested it.
Wheaton President Duane Litfin said the decision was made because of a "simple matter of faithfulness to Christ", and not out of political correctness or because of pressure from anyone. In his explanatory article, "Why Change Wheaton's Mascot?" Litfin wrote, "We are hard-pressed to find anything in these disastrous waves of fighting that our Lord might have approved, despite the fact that the conflict was ostensibly carried out in His name.
"Try, as I did, reading up on the Crusades, searching for anything with which you would be willing to identify; you will find it an eye-opening exercise. It is little wonder that so many view these unfortunate historical episodes so negatively."
The change was supported by all quarters of the college. Patrick Cate, a Ministry executive and graduate of Wheaton, supported the change saying, "When I wear my Wheaton Crusader sweatshirt to a local store, I hope I don't bump into my Muslim friends with whom I want to share the good news of Christ. For Muslims and Jews 'crusades' frequently means evangelism by the sword. The creativity of the Wheaton family can find a new name that communicates our spiritual passions without unnecessarily offending 17 million Jews and one billion Muslims. Change can be our friend."
When this IslamOnline correspondent asked Litfin last year whether the change was an evangelical ploy to appease Muslims, the favorite targets of missionary groups, he replied "..., despite what the public seems to want to make of it, our change in mascot is not designed to 'appease' any particular group of people. We are not trying either to please or displease anyone. The change is motivated rather by our Christian desire to represent our living Lord to a watching world as well as we can. I realize that this may not be something non-Christians will easily grasp, but we really are merely trying to honor Christ in all that we do."
The Wheaton College now has "Thunder" as its mascot.
Recently, a sudden interest has also been seen in the West with regards to Muslim views concerning the Crusades. Two recently released books, Warriors of God, Richard The Lionheart and Saladin: the Third Crusade by James Reston and The Crusades -The Muslim Perspective by Carole Hillenbrand, offer a balanced image of Muslims in the crusades, most notably that of Saladin.
additional reporting by Ayub Khan
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