Students here in the United States would be outraged if a campus group were to call itself the Campus Jihad for Muhammad. But how different is this name from Campus Crusade for Christ? The terms are almost interchangeable, the only difference being the religion practiced.

Granted, the word crusade has changed meaning over the years and, in certain usages, has lost its connection to religion, war and hate. But, in the group’s name, the religious connotation ignites the other negative connotations of violence and bigotry.

A German group would most likely avoid identifying itself with the Holocaust, yet the Campus Crusade for Christ has aligned itself with a similarly violent and hateful occurrence in the past.

The group’s activities are, as far as I can tell, nonviolent. It chose its name before we as a nation became sensitive to these religious issues.

But this does not mean that the title was ever appropriate. It meant the same thing before Sept. 11, 2001.

We were just not as sensitive as we are now. In light of what has come to pass, it is an even worse name to self-apply.

I challenge the international organization and our own local chapter of Campus Crusade for Christ to take a hard look at just what its name is saying to the rest of the world.

The world needs fewer jihads and crusades and more acceptance and love.

Dan Bravender
philosophy senior