Jermaine says Michael was close to converting to Islam

In his first exclusive interview with an Arab channel, AlArabiya, on Wednesday, January 20, 2010, Jermaine Jackson claimed that his younger brother Michael Jackson was exploring Islam and was close to converting at the time of his death. According to Jermaine, Michael studied a great deal about the religion during his time in Bahrain and hired an all Muslim team upon his return to the States:

“After he got back from Bahrain, Michael hired a team that was all Muslim,” he told Al Arabiya. “His behavior at the time also showed that he was very close to converting...I believe that Islam would have helped him a lot. Had he converted, he would have been spared all the problems he had been subjected to throughout his life.”

The Sun reported Michael coverted to Islam in 2008, but this has been disproven by most credible sources. Jermaine said Michael avidly consumed books he gave him on Islam and told him he was happy Jermaine had found something to give him such strength and inner peace.

Since his passing, conversion reports have surfaced from a number of religious groups. There are Jehovah's Witnesses, including Firpo Carr, who insist Michael was an active Jehovah's Witness at the time of his passing when, in fact, he broke with the group in 1988. Conflicting stories circulate about his acceptance of Christ in the tradition of the Church of Christ under Andrae Crouch, while stories of his conversion to Islam persist. Considering the Mt. Everest of problems Michael faced and the confluence of people who constantly worked to exploit him and bring him down, I hardly think this conversion would have erased all the problems in his life. By all accounts, Michael had strong spiritual faith and a thirst for knowlege of many life philosophies.