MANAMA, Bahrain - Pop star Michael Jackson's brother, Jermaine, in the Gulf to promote understanding between Muslims and his fellow Americans, said Tuesday that Muslims are "the new Negroes in America." Jermaine, a convert to Islam and dressed in white Arab garb, has been speaking about Islam and U.S. "adventures" in Iraq to enthusiastic audiences at Koranic centers and universities in the Gulf Arab state of Bahrain.
| "Hey, you said this was a Jackson concert, where's Michael?" |
"I think Muslims have become the new Negroes in America. They are being mistreated at airports, by the Immigration -- everywhere," he said. Jermaine, also a singer, told Reuters in an interview: "I do not agree with the U.S. government. What they are saying about Muslims and Arabs is all propaganda and brainwashing."
| Ok, Michael isn't the crazy Jackson anymore. |
"I don't think it is right for us to go to someone else's country and tell them what to do and how to do it," said Jermaine, who is a guest of the royal court in the pro-Western kingdom, which hosts the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet. He disapproved of Muslim extremism, which has been on the rise in the wake of the U.S. occupation of Iraq last year. "I understand their feelings but do not approve of their methods. Islam is a religion of peace. They are wrong," he said.
| Another one of the "I disapprove of their actions, but" muslims. |
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