Dangerous2000watts
2nd February 2008, 09:28 PM
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article3264240.ece
From Timesonline
Then of course, there was Michael Jackson – clearly a pop musical genius, but surely a shaky start for Sheikh Abdullah’s plan to change the world, quietly, through music, and a quixotic choice of guest for someone aiming to promote understanding between Islam and the West. For two years ago, Abdullah became the mystery man who granted a bolthole to Michael Jackson, following the pop icon’s trial for child molestation (Jackson was acquitted). Sheikh Abdullah welcomed Jackson for a reportedly all-expenses-paid year, shielding him from the tabloid reporters who stalked his every move – until, that is, he found palatial refuge in a magic kingdom thanks to his deep-pocketed patron and pal. After the sheikh reportedly flew the moonwalker and his family to stay with him, the pair collaborated for a year together on a Hurricane Katrina charity single I Have a Dream and 2 Seas announced an exclusive record deal (the single was never released). Meanwhile Sheikh Abdullah kept frustrated reporters at bay while ***** reportedly skipped around town in a black robe, or abaya, and a scarf covering his face, an outfit traditionally worn by conservative Arabic women. In a Muslim monarchy, it’s hard to know what anybody here really thinks of Sheikh Abdullah and his Western friends, but Michael Jackson stirred some controversy in Bahrain and even in Dubai (where he entered the ladies room in a shopping mall and applied make-up). “He should keep his concerts and his effeminate manners away from us,” said Bahraini conservative cleric Adel al-Maawda. “We don’t want him turning Bahrain into Las Vegas.” Or as one ordinary Bahraini, Hani Bucheery, a security company manager, put it: “I’m not against him being in Bahrain – but against him using Bahrain to run away from his problems.”
Jackson eventually became enough of a royal pain to prompt Sheikh Abdullah to sue him in the High Court in London, alleging that Jackson moonwalked right out the door to Japan and Ireland, breaching their contract, a case that is still ongoing. “All I will say is that Michael is a dear friend,” says Sheikh Abdullah. “It is a business problem. It is not personal. But let me tell you: Michael is not at all weird or bizarre. He is one of the most down-to-earth, sweetest guys I’ve ever met.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------
:eek: This is too long to read, but I know what the main point is.
Holy cow!
From Timesonline
Then of course, there was Michael Jackson – clearly a pop musical genius, but surely a shaky start for Sheikh Abdullah’s plan to change the world, quietly, through music, and a quixotic choice of guest for someone aiming to promote understanding between Islam and the West. For two years ago, Abdullah became the mystery man who granted a bolthole to Michael Jackson, following the pop icon’s trial for child molestation (Jackson was acquitted). Sheikh Abdullah welcomed Jackson for a reportedly all-expenses-paid year, shielding him from the tabloid reporters who stalked his every move – until, that is, he found palatial refuge in a magic kingdom thanks to his deep-pocketed patron and pal. After the sheikh reportedly flew the moonwalker and his family to stay with him, the pair collaborated for a year together on a Hurricane Katrina charity single I Have a Dream and 2 Seas announced an exclusive record deal (the single was never released). Meanwhile Sheikh Abdullah kept frustrated reporters at bay while ***** reportedly skipped around town in a black robe, or abaya, and a scarf covering his face, an outfit traditionally worn by conservative Arabic women. In a Muslim monarchy, it’s hard to know what anybody here really thinks of Sheikh Abdullah and his Western friends, but Michael Jackson stirred some controversy in Bahrain and even in Dubai (where he entered the ladies room in a shopping mall and applied make-up). “He should keep his concerts and his effeminate manners away from us,” said Bahraini conservative cleric Adel al-Maawda. “We don’t want him turning Bahrain into Las Vegas.” Or as one ordinary Bahraini, Hani Bucheery, a security company manager, put it: “I’m not against him being in Bahrain – but against him using Bahrain to run away from his problems.”
Jackson eventually became enough of a royal pain to prompt Sheikh Abdullah to sue him in the High Court in London, alleging that Jackson moonwalked right out the door to Japan and Ireland, breaching their contract, a case that is still ongoing. “All I will say is that Michael is a dear friend,” says Sheikh Abdullah. “It is a business problem. It is not personal. But let me tell you: Michael is not at all weird or bizarre. He is one of the most down-to-earth, sweetest guys I’ve ever met.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------
:eek: This is too long to read, but I know what the main point is.
Holy cow!