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In April, 1996, a group of Christians set out on a "Reconciliation Walk" in an attempt to retrace the route of this first Crusade. Several hundred people from various nations and backgrounds participated in various stages of the Walk.
Lynn Green, the initiator of the Walk, said, "When you talk with Muslims about the gospel of Christ, they think about an upside down cross . . . a sword. As far as I know, there has never been an attempt to correct that picture."
Averaging 30 kilometres a day, the "walkers" covered a distance of more than 2500 kilometres, crossing the borders of seven countries. Said Cathy Nobles, Walk coordinater for Turkey, "Along the way, both Jews and Muslims told them over and over, `This is the message we have waited 900 years to hear.' "
Arriving in Turkey October 10, 1996, the participants in the Walk were given a special reception by the assistant mayor of Istanbul, Ali Mfit Grtuna, a member of the Islamist Welfare Party.
John Pressdee from England, who walked all the way from Cologne to Istanbul, said, "As we walk through the communities here in Turkey, they stand in the street and clap for us." Local Muslim leaders read the Walk's "Message of Reconciliation" (see sidebar) aloud in the mosques and posted it for all the people to see and hear.
The Message has also resulted in acknowledgements of wrong acts from the other side. A Turkish imam from Vienna spoke to a group of about 250 Muslims after he had heard the Message of Reconciliation: "We as Muslims have also sinned."
Green said the personal contact between Muslims and Christians has helped both sides overcome biased ideas about each other: "I believe that Muslims and Jews never had a chance to get a real picture of who God is through us. God's most important revelation was on the cross of Calvary. When do we show that to them?"
"Before the Walk, I thought of all Muslims as extreme and hostile. Now I know that is not true. We should be careful not to generalize," said another participant.
For the next two years, teams will be coming to Turkey from April to October, travelling in small teams all over the country and taking the message to individual people. The Walk finishes on the 900th anniversary of when Jerusalem fell to the Crusaders, July 15, 1999."
When asked if a collective guilt is still valid after 900 years, Nobles responded, "I would have thought it would fade away. But in my first trip to Turkey in 1993, I was amazed. Every time someone asked me if I was a Christian, the next question would be, `Can you explain the Crusades to me?' "
Pressdee added, "These events are still vivid in the minds of the people. As long as that is the case, it acts as a barrier."
from a Compass Direct news release
On the anniversary of the first Crusade, we also carry the name of Christ. We wish to retrace the footsteps of the Crusaders in repentance for their deeds and in defence of the true meaning of the Cross. We act in repentance and offer apology for the atrocities committed in the name of Christ by our predecessors. We renounce their motives and condemn their deeds.
Where they were motivated by revenge, we offer forgiveness. Where they were motivated by selfish greed, we offer service. Where they were motivated by hatred and prejudice, we offer love and brotherhood. Jesus the Messiah came to give life. Forgive us for allowing His name to be associated with death. Please accept again the true meaning of the Messiah's words:
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour."
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