Michael Jackson has been urged to convert to Islam by his older brother Jermaine.
Jermaine, who starred in the Jackson Five with his younger brother, converted to Islam after a visit to Bahrain in the 1980s. He changed his name to Muhammad Abdul Aziz. Michael has spent some time in the tiny Gulf state since leaving America, and his brother believes he has given the idea of conversion some "serious thought".Jermaine is currently in the midst of a brief celebrity renaissance after coming second in the British version of 'Celebrity Big Brother'. He became well liked by housemates and viewers for his relaxed, easygoing nature, something he would likely attribute to his faith.
"If I didn't have Allah and my prayer rug, I would not have survived and the reason why is because it kept me focused, it kept me calm," Jermaine told BBC Asia.
He went on to explain that his brother could also benefit from getting to know Allah; "Michael, I feel, needs to become a Muslim because I think it's a great protection for him from all the things that he's been attacked with, which are false ... there's a strength and protection there."
