Crusades Apology 900 Years Later
By SALAM ABUMARAQ, AP
JERUSALEM (AP), To most, the Crusades are ancient history. Not to Prince
Albrecht zu Castell-Castell, a descendant of one of the Christian knights who nearly a
millennium ago conquered Jerusalem and massacred Muslims and Jews in the name of
God. On Thursday, the German aristocrat with white hair and ruddy cheeks finally got
a chance to apologize to descendants of the Muslim warrior Saladin for his ancestor's
crimes, which he said have burdened his conscience for years.
Castell-Castell was one of dozens of Western Christians who delivered apologies
to Israel's chief rabbi, the top Muslim cleric and anyone in the streets of Jerusalem who
would listen. Thursday marked the 900th anniversary of the Crusaders' conquest of
Jerusalem on July 15, 1099.
In the runup to the date, about 500 Christians from Europe, Australia and the
United States joined a so-called Reconciliation Walk, setting out three years ago from
Cologne, Germany, where the first Crusade was launched in 1096, and tracing the path of
the Crusaders to the Holy Land.
In Jerusalem, the Christians held hands as they sang and prayed Thursday outside
the walls of the Old City. Wandering through the cobblestone streets, they visited shops
and handed out pamphlets with apologies in Hebrew and Arabic.
Afterwards, the group separated; some met with Israel's chief rabbi, Meir Israel
Lau, at the Great Synagogue, and others with the top Muslim cleric in the city, Mufti
Ikrema Sabri.
``We are deeply sorry for the atrocities committed by our forefathers,'' read
the framed message handed to both. ``Where our forefathers were driven by hatred and
prejudice, we wish to express love and solidarity.''
During the Crusades, which lasted from the 11th through the 13th century, tens
of thousands of Muslims and Jews were killed. The Roman Catholic Crusaders also wrested
control of Christian holy sites from their Eastern Orthodox stewards.
Lau, a survivor of the Nazi Holocaust, said he was not sure he had the mandate
to accept the apology, but welcomed it nonetheless. ``Better late than never,'' he
said.
Among the marchers was John Strobole, 74, a retired U.S. Air Force pilot from
Chico, Calif. ``I grew up believing that the Crusades were a fine thing, and I was shocked
when I learned of the massacres they carried out among the Muslims, the Jews and Eastern
Orthodox Christians,'' he said.
At the mufti's, Muslim officials introduced the visitors to Amin Maraka and
Mousa Sider, descendants of the Muslim conquerer Saladin, who retook Jerusalem in 1187.
Castell-Castell's interest was piqued. He began speaking to the two elderly
Palestinian men in German, with his granddaughter translating into English and a
Palestinian woman translating from English into Arabic.
The prince, wearing a white Reconciliation Walk T-shirt, introduced himself as
the descendant of Count Ludwig who came to the Holy Land in 1228. Then, with his hand on
his heart, he apologized. ``I have borne the burden of my ancestors,'' he said. The
descendants of Saladin accepted, and quickly brought up the Palestinians' modern struggle
for independence. Asking the prince to take their message back to Europe, they said: ``We
must be together always, not trying to crush others.''
