I believe Shareef was Muslim but, sensei had to take some poetic license to express how deeply devoted to god Shareef's family was. Because in Islam idolatry is very STRICTLY forbidden, they have no symbol for god. Therefore, sensei used the most commonly recognized symbol for god, the Christian crucifix.
It's possible he's Egyptian. There are Orthodox Christians there. Everything suggested it was some type of Christian derived religion
I meant to add that unfortunately people use Arab and Middle Eastern interchangeably. That's how I interpreted it
There are no princes in Egypt, I could say it's not a cross but the he key of the Nile or the ankh we call it in egypt the key of life. It opens the door to the after life.
Huh kinda confused about Arabian guy. why does he wear rosary? O.o
I think most of Arabian ppl are Muslim because it's the part of their culture too.