Crusading in Qatar

SIR – Charles Moore (Comment, November 29) suggests that the Crusader outfit worn by some England supporters in Qatar is as offensive as an SS uniform would be on the streets of Britain. I believe he is wrong for two reasons.

The first is that the passage of time should surely have softened the animosity of the Crusades. We would not, I think, be offended by someone wearing a Kaiser-style Pickelhaube.

The second is that Qatar’s involvement in the Crusades was limited. The peninsula was lightly settled during that period and is more than 1,000 miles from the Holy Land – further, in fact, than Gibraltar is from Great Britain.

Gus Carter

London SW1