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PAKISTAN: Crusades betrayed Christian beliefs, Williams tells Muslims
By Jonathan Petre, Religion Correspondent
THE TELEGRAPH
11/24/2005)
The Crusades were a serious betrayal of Christian beliefs, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, said yesterday.
Speaking 900 years after Christian warriors sacked Jerusalem, the Archbishop said that any attempt to revive the crusading ideal today would not garner much support among Christians.
His comments, made in Pakistan, appeared to be an attempt to reassure Muslims that the Churches are anxious to avert confrontation between the West and Islamic states.
In the past he has warned western leaders, particularly President Bush, against using sensitive religious language such as the term "crusade" to justify the war against Iraq.
But his comments may anger traditionalists who will see them as another apology by a Christian leader for the past.
Dr Williams said in a lecture at the Islamic University in Islamabad that Christians regarded the use of force as "second best", only necessary in a threatening or unjust situation.
"Most Christians would now say that the history of the crusades, for example, or the religious wars in Europe in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, were serious betrayals of many of the central beliefs of Christian faith," he said.
"Any modern attempt to revive a crusading ideal is not likely to be supported by most Christian believers."
The crusades began in 1095 when Pope Urban II called on western Christendom to take up the sword to "liberate the holy land" after Muslims effectively cut off Jerusalem from Christian pilgrims.
Dr Williams also said Christian countries did not set the best examples in giving money, a clear reference to criticism of western aid efforts following the Pakistan earthquake.
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