Al-Khadr (series)

The feast of St. George at St. George’s Monastery in the Muslim village of Al-Khadr is an occasion for general festivities in the street outside. Inside, Christians from Bethlehem and nearby villages are joined by village Muslims in taking blessings from St. George (identified by Muslims with al-Khidr), particularly by binding themselves and their children with chains associated with George’s torture under Diocletian. Muslims are variously attentive to Christian iconology although they do not evidently revere it. A local priest blesses both Muslims and Christians despite the opprobrium of visiting monks (non-Palestinian) resident in nearby monasteries who condemn both the presence of Muslims and the practice of offering them blessing.

Professor Glenn Bowman is Emeritus Professor of Socio-Cultural Anthropology at the University of Kent at Canterbury, and author of numerous works on shared religious sites.

Al-Khadr West Bank, Palestine, 5-6 May 2011by Glenn Bowman

Al-Khadr
West Bank, Palestine, 5-6 May 2011
by Glenn Bowman