On 2/4/06, Jim Devine <jdevine03 at gmail.com> wrote:
> From King of Pop to Queen of Arabia
> Usama Hussain, Arab News
>
> MANAMA, Bahrain, 26 January 2006 — Michael Jackson has been out of the
> limelight ever since he was acquitted of child molestation charges in
> a highly publicized trial, which left his career and reputation in
> ruin. He left his life in Tinseltown and moved to this tiny Gulf Coast
> Island as the personal guest of Sheikh Abdullah ibn Hamad Al-Khalifa.
>
> With no mob of paparazzi around to hound him, one would think that
> Jackson would be leading a normal life free of controversy. But that
> is not the case, as one Saudi discovered on a recent trip to Bahrain.
>
> Sarah F., an 18-year-old student majoring in English Literature at
> King Saud University, was in Bahrain with her cousin, Aliyah, when
> they came face to face with the King of Controversy. Only this time,
> he was completely veiled from head to toe in an abaya!
>
> [picture: Michael Jackson wearing a traditional Arabic women's veil
> and all-covering gown called "abaya", holds one of his children, also
> veiled, as he walks, behind a Manama shopping mall on Wednesday. (AP)]
>
> "My cousin and I were at a music store in Seef mall browsing music
> CDs, when a woman came over to her friend and pointed toward Jackson
> and told her that was Michael Jackson and not a woman," said Sarah.
>
> Confused and unable to recognize Jackson, Sarah and Aliyah finally
> realized which abaya was the odd one out.
>
> "We couldn't recognize him but then we noticed his bodyguards standing
> close by and his children were with him too. What really gave him away
> were his sunglasses. No one wears sunglasses inside a store especially
> at night."
>
> Jackson in drag is not an easy target to identify. As Sarah found out
> that not only did Jackson cross-dress he did it in such a lady like
> manner that it was very hard to tell him apart.
>
> "I was surprised to see how well he was wearing his abaya. The abaya
> was completely covering his body and was closed from the front so you
> couldn't see what he was wearing underneath. His hijab was on
> perfectly with not a strand of hair poking out. And his niqab covered
> his whole face with only his eyes visible, but he had aviator
> sunglasses to take care of that."
>
> Excited, Sarah and Aliyah approached the abaya-clad Jackson and they
> were greeted with a warm reception. "We said hello and told him that
> we were big fans and major supporters."
>
> Jackson nodded and replied, "Thank you, God bless you, God bless you."
>
> Asked if he was enjoying Bahrain, Jackson said, "Yes, I am."
>
> He went on to shake hands with both girls and even commented on
> Sarah's blue nail polish.
>
> "He held up my hand close to his face and told me that my nail polish
> was really cool."
>
> As they were talking to Jackson, they wanted a souvenir of their
> encounter with the legend himself to take back home to Saudi Arabia.
> So both bought two of Jackson's greatest hits CD and had them
> autographed.
>
> Michael Jackson has been surrounded by controversy all his life. His
> latest stint in the Muslim world is one that will be remembered by the
> two young girls for a long time to come.
> --
> Jim Devine
>
> "The price one pays for pursuing any profession or calling is an
> intimate knowledge of its ugly side." -- James Baldwin
>
-- Jim Devine
"The price one pays for pursuing any profession or calling is an intimate knowledge of its ugly side." -- James Baldwin