A personal memory to share, and one about how in a multicultural society symbols of a violent shameful past could end up rehabilitated.
1099 AD - With their morale lifted by reports that St George appeared on the battlefield, crusaders adopt St George as their patron saint and paint his cross on their armour and use it on their flags. For hundreds of years afterwards, the Ummah of Mohammad (pbuh) are slaughtered under that flag, thousands of Muslims killed, burnt, tortured, raped with the flag of St George being raised over their ruin.
1277 AD - The Kingdom of England adopts the St George cross as its flag.
INTERMISSION
2001 AD- England qualify for the Football World Cup the following year
2002 AD- I drove to the masjid for jummah prayers on the day of a football match. Lots of local muslims were supporting the England team in that match and were flying England flags from their cars to signal their support to all. So as I stood in the mosque taking off my shoes and looking outside, I noticed that:
900 years after the Crusades began, the flag of the crusaders was still flying proud. Only its meaning had changed so much that it was now being flown by those coming to humble themselves in worship to Allah SWT, rather than by those coming to murder His worshippers. Outside the masjid, fluttering from cars in the gentle breeze, was a sea of St George crosses, with more and more coming in as more people showed up and parked.
If the Crusaders could see that scene, I thought with a smile, they would be turning and tossing in their graves. What they had fought for had been unravelled through multicultural acceptance; the symbol under which they had fought to surpress Islam had been instead adopted by many Muslim as they went on their way to practice Islam together.
