Bahraini sheik who had legal dispute with Michael Jackson saddened by his death

Bahraini sheik saddened by Jackson’s death

MANAMA, Bahrain — A Bahraini royal who fell out with Michael Jackson after hosting him in this Gulf emirate for a year said Saturday he was saddened by the entertainer’s death.

Across the small kingdom, Bahrainis embraced Jackson as one of their own. “God have mercy on him. He was a Bahraini. He lived with us,” said Jassim Ali, 35, after buying a Jackson CD in a music store in the capital, Manama.

Sheik Abdulla bin Hamad Isa Al Khalifa, a son of Bahrain’s king and an aspiring songwriter, had befriended Jackson after the singer’s trial on child molestation charges in 2005.

He invited him to live in Bahrain and showered him with money.

After Jackson left the Gulf emirate in 2006, the sheik said Jackson failed to fulfill a joint music venture and sued Jackson for $7 million. Jackson denied the charge, saying the money was a gift. The two settled the dispute in a November deal, whose terms were 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.

Jackson had kept a low profile during his year in Bahrain. He didn’t perform and largely stayed close to his host, the king’s son, and his entourage.

Some Bahrainis on Saturday recalled encounters with Jackson and said they’re proud he chose the emirate as a home, even if briefly.

“In a way, I am glad he recognized Bahrain as a safer environment for him and his kids,” said Hala Abdel Wahab, a 24-year-old doctor.

She said she once saw the singer trotting through a fashionable mall in Manama, his frail body draped in a traditional women’s abaya, or robe, which covers part of the face. Abdel Wahab said Jackson drew a crowd at the time since he didn’t walk like a woman.

Qays al Zu’bi, 53, a Bahraini lawyer, said he was helping Jackson with his finances at the time and accompanied Jackson on trips in the region, including a consultancy job in the Gulf state of Oman.

Al-Zu’bi said Jackson had qualities about him that endeared him to the people around him, including his close relationship with his children.

“He had an aura about him,” said the attorney, who said he shared family dinners with the singer. “He enriched my life in one way or another, aside from his music.”

Associated Press writer Sarah El Deeb in Cairo contributed to this report.