Ireland: Athletics club removes crosses after threats

The Irish news platform, Independent.ie, reported on 26 October 2016 that Dublin's biggest running club, the Crusaders Athletic Club, made the decision to remove the cross emblem temporarily from their athletes" sportswear following threats from radical Muslims, according to CBN News reporting on 23 October 2016. The decision came in response to threats of violence "by someone claiming to represent so-called Islamic State" (IS) directed at the club planning to participate in the Dublin City Marathon on 30 October 2016. Members of the club have stressed that its name has no direct association with the Muslim-Christian wars (popularly referred to as "The Crusades") of the Middle Ages. 19,500 runners took part in the marathon which has thus become Europe"s fourth largest marathon, according to the official Dublin City Marathon homepage. An Ethiopian won the event and no violent incidents were reported. David Davidson, working at World Watch Research, comments: "We are used to hearing about Christians being careful not to cause offense through openly wearing Christian symbols in Muslim majority countries. This decision in Dublin "“ made for security"s sake "“ shows how powerful emails claiming connection with IS can be in the West. IS regularly refers to US-led military action against its forces in Iraq and Syria as attacks by "˜Western crusaders" against Muslim communities and the Independent.ie has listed several sports clubs who have recently changed their name and logo to avoid potential offence. While measures which seek to avoid giving offence are to be seen as positive steps, it should be noted that this is a case of blackmail and the motive is fear. Welcome to everyday Christian life in the Middle East!"