Editor 
Michael Jackson’s burial on August 29, more than two months after his death, will finally allow his soul to rest in peace. But there is a troubling side to his troubled life and equally troubling death.
Perhaps the most famous pop star in the world, Jackson became a Muslim last December. In Western media accounts, this fact was deliberately suppressed for obvious reasons. Islam and Muslims are projected as enemies of the West so any mention of Jackson’s embracing Islam would have undermined this campaign.
But we are not concerned with his conversion per se. Allah (swt) gives guidance to whomever He wills. Jackson’s acceptance of Islam, even in the last days of his life, should earn him forgiveness from the Most Merciful. Our concern is with the reported behavior of some celebrity Muslim imams and leaders who were jockeying for the “honor” to lead his funeral prayer in Los Angeles.
Included in the list were those claiming to lead various institutes of learning, and the Wahhabis and Sufis. Nor did it matter whether they were black or white. One wonders when these so-called Muslim leaders will grow up and show some humility instead of acting like superstars thriving on the adulation of their fawning and equally-misguided fans?
Or should we conclude that there is something inherently wrong in US culture that turns even a somber event like a funeral prayer into a circus?
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