Brother of late king of pop music, Michael Jackson, Jermaine Jackson, has revealed why he converted to Islam from Christianity.
In an interview with BBC, Jermaine narrated how he went on a tour to some of the countries of the Middle East with his sister in 1989, stressing that they met with some children who welcomed them warmly.
Jermaine disclosed that during his chat with the children, they were quick to let him know that they were Muslims with pride.
He noted that the confidence of the children “really shook me from within.”
Jermaine said, “Then they started telling me about Islam. They were giving me information, much in piece with their age. The pitch of their voice would reveal that they were highly proud of Islam. This is how I paced towards Islam.
“A very short interaction with a group of children ultimately led me to have long discourses about Islam with Muslim scholars. A great ripple had taken place in my thought. I made failing attempt to console myself that nothing had happened but I could not conceal this fact any longer from myself that at heart I had converted to Islam. This I disclosed first to my family friend, Qunber Ali.”
Jermaine while explaining how he felt after becoming a Muslim, said: “Having embraced Islam, I felt as if I were born again. I found in Islam the answers to those queries which I had failed to find in Christianity.
“Particularly, it was only Islam that provided satisfactory answer to the question relating to the birth of Christ. For the first time I was convinced about the religion itself. I pray my family members might appreciate these facts.
“My family is the follower of that cult of Christianity, which is known as AVENDANCE of JEHOVA (Jehovah’s Witness). According to its creeds, only 144,000 men would finally qualify to enter into paradise. How come? It remained always a perplexing creed for me.
“I was surprised to know that the Bible was compiled by so many men, particularly about a volume scripted by King James. I wondered if a man compiles a directory and then ascribes it to God, but he does not fully comply with these directions. During my stay in Saudi Arabia, I have had the opportunity to buy a cassette released by the erstwhile British pop-singer and the present Muslim preacher, Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens). I learnt a lot from this as well.”
