A Bahraini royal mourned him publicly, young Lebanese held a candlelight tribute, Egyptian musicians hailed him as an inspiration.Beyond his global reach, Michael Jackson held a special place in the Muslim world, as one of the first major Western entertainers to break through cultural barriers in the 1980s.

Some made a connection with the pop icon because of rumors, never substantiated, that he had converted to Islam. Others embraced him as one of their own after he sought refuge in the Gulf emirate of Bahrain in 2005, following a bruising trial on child molestation charges in the U.S.
“God have mercy on him. He was a Bahraini. He lived with us,” said Jassim Ali, 35, shopping for Jackson CDs on Saturday in a music store in the capital, Manama.

Jackson only spent a year in the emirate, as a guest of Sheik Abdulla bin Hamad Isa Al Khalifa, a son of Bahrain’s king and an aspiring songwriter who had befriended the entertainer. Jackson kept a low profile there, largely staying close to his host.

After Jackson’s departure, the sheik sued Jackson for $7 million, saying he had failed to fulfill a joint music venture, but the two settled in November, with terms not disclosed.

The sheik said Saturday, in a statement in the Gulf Daily News, that “the world has lost a giant in the music industry.”

“We are all very saddened by that,” Al Khalifa said in comments confirmed by his spokesman.

Across the Arab world, the tributes to Jackson, who died Thursday, mirrored those elsewhere around the globe, though some argued the singer had a special appeal in the region.

“Religion is a big part of identity in this part of the world, and the idea he became Muslim boosted his popularity,” said Egyptian cultural critic Tarek el-Shinnawi.

The conversion rumors were fueled, in parts, by comments by Jackson’s brother, Jermaine, a convert to Islam, who has said his brother showed interest in the faith. In November, a British tabloid claimed Michael Jackson converted at a friend’s home in Los Angeles.

The Jackson brothers were raised as Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Others simply loved Michael Jackson for his music. At his peak, in the 1980s, a time without Internet and satellite TV, the Arab world was more shielded from Western pop culture. Jackson was one of the few successful crossover artists.

In Egypt, keyboarder and music distributor Fady Badr traveled to Alexandria to take a few days off work to come to terms with the pop star’s death.

“He’s the reason I got into this business,” said 28-year old Badr. “Everything he did was new, he had such a power of voice and style; this industry would wait for his new ideas to get us inspired.”
A manager of the Cairo Jazz Club, Shady Hamza, said that he was flooded by calls from local bands and musicians to help arrange a tribute night to the singer.

“I feel like I lost a brother,” said Hamza, 30. “He turned so many of us into the whole music thing — for a lot of musicians, Michael Jackson was their first encounter.”

In Lebanon, about 100 young fans lit candles and sang along to his songs in a downtown street lined with bars and restaurants. A few tried to moon walk while others cheered.

Qays al Zu’bi, a Bahraini lawyer who said he helped Jackson with his finances when he lived in the emirate, said the singer had qualities about him that endeared him to people in the region, including his close relationship with his children and his vision.

“He had an aura about him,” said the lawyer. “Despite the scandal in the United States, I saw mothers at the lobby of his hotel who brought their children to introduce them to Michael Jackson.”
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Associated Press Writer Reem Khalifah in Bahrain contributed to this report.

I find it very interesting that so many groups with their own personal agendas are disturbed by the fact that President Obama didn’t delve in to specific policy decisions in this speech. Everyone wants their point of view to be front and center yet they aren’t able to concede the notion that this wasn’t the appropriate time or forum for specific policy decisions.

I suggest you go back and listen to the speech again. Keep your ears open for how specifically President Obama addresses terrorism. Listen to how he paints a picture of what needs to happen to make peace viable and sustainable throughout the Middle East. Listen to an American President talk about the need of joint communication and effort with all nation’s willing to come to the table to make the world safer and more prosperous for all.

My guess is that you didn’t like hearing that Israel had a role to play in the process by ceasing settlement growth. Just like here in the United States every group want’s their agenda to be most prominent yet are often unwilling to accept the responsibility of making appropriate concessions when necessary. And let’s not forget that President Obama has only been in office since January. He is faced with overwhelmingly difficult issues yet has shown diligence, thoughtfulness and a steadfastness that hasn’t been nothing short of extraordinary.

Perhaps instead of looking to one man to solve all your problems you should look inward and see what you can do to work in conjunction with what is a new and powerful vision for the world. But perhaps you are unwilling to look inward and instead find more strength from blame and accusations as opposed to action that will insure a better life for all countries and their people.

I’ll have you know that it was Islam that invented the first toilet seat.

However, their invention was further perfected later on when a German cut a hole in it.

There is hope even yet for this sad sick anti-semitic world if there are people like her in the world today.