RECONCILIATION MESSAGE RECEIVED WARMLY IN FORMER "HOSTAGE CITY"

CHRISTIAN "PEACE WALKERS" have been "amazed" at the warm reception they have received from Muslim leaders in the region long associated with fundamentalist opposition.

Around 130 Christians from Europe and the United States who believe that much present-day Muslim-Christian tension springs from centuries-old wrongs have visited former "hostage city" Beirut over the past few weeks to share the Reconciliation Walk's message of apology for the way the medieval Crusades misrepresented the gospel.

The bridge-building initiative has been welcomed by leaders of all the major factions in the country, slowly recovering from a lengthy, religiously fueled civil war that saw several Western hostages held for years by Muslim groups.

Retracing the routes of the 900-year-old Crusades through Europe to Jerusalem, the Reconciliation Walk has seen some 1,100 people help spread the message of regret to Muslim and Jewish communities along the way since it began almost three years ago. The official statement apologizes for the way in which the so-called Holy Wars "betrayed" Christianity's "true meaning of reconciliation, forgiveness and selfless love".

The Reconciliation Walk arrived in Lebanon in September, after two years' spreading the apology across Turkey to widespread appreciation. Reconciliation Walk international director Lynn Green said that he had been "absolutely amazed" by the positive response in Lebanon "From the outset I had been deeply concerned, with the country's history and reputation, but the reality has been completely different.

"Some of the groups that we in the West would typically think of as most extreme and otherworldly we have found to be urbane, sophisticated and gracious people who have reached out to us and explained their perspective on their country and the Middle East. They have been extremely affirming about what we are doing."

Representatives of Druze, Shiite and Sunni Muslim groups are among those who have met with Reconciliation Walk participants, many times inviting them into their homes.

Among those carrying the message was Jane Edison, a British housewife who visited the country for two weeks with her husband and three children. Initially "a bit worried about the hostage thing", she and her family met and talked with people after the Reconciliation Walk message was presented to several Muslim community gatherings.

The experience "blew away my stereotypes of Muslims. It gave me such a love for the people and that part of the world... A Lebanese man I met said that if somebody says sorry, anything can happen. It's a grassroots thing, and if someone starts to do it, it can spread."

Walkers - from Youth With A Mission and local churches in Europe and the United States - have also visited neighboring Syria, and will continue to take their message of reconciliation to groups in Lebanon until the end of March. Then the Reconciliation Walk moves to Israel, where it is due to culminate with a special gathering to mark the 900th anniversary of the fall of Jerusalem to the Crusaders, on July 15.

Green said that recent heightened tension following the American and British bombing of Iraq should not discourage people from joining the Reconciliation Walk.

"There will only be a problem if Western Christians become fearful and reluctant to travel, and there is no reason for that at all. I hope that we do not succumb to fear, because that it the enemy's tactic."

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