http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_George#Muslim_world
wikipedia entry on st george:
"In Islamic cultures, the figure of al-Khadr (or al-Khidr; according to the Qur'an a companion of the prophet Moses), is associated with St.George, who is also venerated under that name by Christians among mainly Muslim people, especially Palestinian people, and mainly around Jerusalem, where according to tradition he lived and often prayed near the Temple Mount, and is venerated as a protector in times of crisis. His main monument is the elongated mosque Qubbat al-Khadr ('The Dome of al-Khadr') which stands isolated from any close neighbors on the northwest corner of the Dome of the Rock terrace in Jerusalem."
Pardon me for butting it. I don't mean to be forward.
Christian images DO abound in Islam.
Jesus is issa is Arabic and that name is seen quite often. There was an "issa's bazaar" in Saudi Arabia in our local town. It WASN'T defamatory either. Musa is Moses. Miriam is Mary. Dawood is David. In the Koran Jesus IS the Son of God (thought NOT God), born of the virgin Mary. His birth was announced by the angel Gabriel...but it was under a palm tree (lol).
It doesn't surprise me about St. George. The Crusaders were in the near east for a couple of hundred years and their influence is still seen. The Crusader castle at Karak (Syria) is amazing. Renaud de Châtillon, the French Crusader, really did build it. It's called the Raven Castle because a raven was part of HIS heraldry. There are others but that one is the largest and most preserved. It was used in the movie Heavenly Kingdom with Orlando Bloom. The Crusader green eyes are still seen in Arab faces.
The Templars began during that time and the monk-warriors left a lasting impression in the region.
People in this country know so little about middle-east cultures and assume that Arabs/Muslims/Palestinians are mostly like the media cast them.....much like the vision some of the world views Americans, that is, the crude cowboy image of Sleazywood: the flip side of the ignornant, hate-filled coin of the media-fed version of people. It DOES sell toothpaste and "agenda" and that's what the media do. I lived in Saudi Arabia five years. I also had the chance to visit Syria, Jordan, Egypt, the Emirates, Kuwait, India and much of the KSA. It opened MY eyes as to what the people were really like.
It pains me to hear of the bashing of Islam. There are 1 billion Muslims in the world, with only 25% of them as Arabs. The Arab culture PRE-DATED Islam by 1000 years and what's egregious in the Arab world stems MOSTLY from their culture, not their religion. Islam uplifted their culture...which tells you many things, most of them not good, about their ancient culture.
Most intelligent thinking humans would see the hate-Islam for what it is, knowing that Christians are often judged by the same kind of ignorance that brands Christians from the Crusades, or brands Catholicism by the Inquisition. The RELIGION isn't the problem, people are. Who doesn't know that? Our Old Testament sometimes reads a bit quirky but we don't condemn all of Judaism and Christianity because of it.
Oh well. I'm probably preaching to the choir, but thanks for listening.