Crusaders Lose Before Joining Battle

A Catholic high school in San Juan Capistrano that won’t open for another year already is looking to replace its politically sensitive team name, the Crusaders.

Supporters of the $70-million Junipero Serra High School expressed concern that the name and logo--two swords and a shield with a cross on it--would be offensive to Muslims, who were targets of the bloody crusades of the Middle Ages.

“We need to be much more careful in picking names,” said Muzammil Siddiqi, leader of the Islamic Society of Orange County. “It reminds [Muslims] of all the horrible stories and the brutality. Now that we’re living close to each other, we all need to be careful what kind of terminology we use.”

Just up the road in Irvine, an Islamic school, New Horizon, is scheduled to open this fall for 400 students from kindergarten through eighth grade.

“There’s some pretty heavy baggage that comes with the name Crusader,” said Patricia Swindle, director of news at Wheaton College. Last fall, the Illinois college changed its 70-year-old Crusaders name to the Thunder after protests from students.

The Crusader name for Serra was selected by board members and then presented to school boosters.

“Some people loved the name, and some people expressed concern,” said Lisa J. Tremble, Serra’s director of marketing. Anxiety over the Crusader name was high enough to trigger a round of meetings, including one Monday, to discuss the issue.

School officials are soliciting suggestions for a new name from parents, students and supporters.

The crusades, starting in the 11th century, were part of a centuries-long military campaign led by Christian soldiers to take the Holy Land from the Muslims.

Having a school named the Serra Crusaders could have put Bishop Tod D. Brown in an embarrassing spot. Brown serves as the head of the Roman Catholic inter-religious movement in the U.S.

The bishop said he hadn’t known about the original team name, but said he is pleased it is being rethought.

“That’s good news,” Brown said. “The challenge is always to be respectful of other people’s faith and be very sensitive to cultural and religious issues of those faiths.”

Unlike diocesan-operated Catholic high schools such as Mater Dei and Santa Margarita, Serra is a private school, run by a lay board but with oversight from the Diocese of Orange. The school, designed for 1,800 students, is planned for 35 acres in north San Juan Capistrano.

Shabbir Mansuri, founder of the Council on Islamic Education in Fountain Valley, said he hopes the Crusader issue, which he sees as minor, won’t put a wedge between the Muslim and Catholic communities, and he volunteered to speak at the new high school.

“The crusades are part of our history, but you can’t put everything in black and white,” Mansuri said. For example, the Crusades eventually led to “great exchanges of thoughts and ideas” between Muslims and Catholics, he said.

The Crusaders is the team name for a few Southern California high schools, including Cerritos Valley Christian and Village Christian in the San Fernando Valley.

Team name controversies have been a part of sports for the last couple of decades. Last month, in the wake of protests from American Indians, Woodbridge High School in Irvine decided to keep its Warrior team name, but eliminate what officials called the cartoonish mascot who performed at the games.