Michael Jackson to be buried in Muslim tradition

The family of Michael Jackson is considering a traditional Muslim burial for the pop icon who had converted to Islam months prior to his death, says a new report.

X 17 online, a celebrity website reported quoting sources close to the family that Jackson's new found will states that he will be buried in the traditions of his new faith.

"The family is considering following the Muslim burial traditions because Michael would have wanted to be laid to rest in keeping with his new-found religious beliefs.

Michael's brother Jermaine is educating the family as to the special rites," the source said Jackson had reportedly converted to Islam in November last year and taken the name of 'Mikhaail'.

Meanwhile, a public viewing of the performer will take place on Friday at his fantasy themed abode California ranch, Neverland. There has been no official confirmation from Jackson's family on the location where his body will be laid to rest.

Jermaine Jackson fought back tears on TV on Thursday morning as he recalled seeing his brother Michael lying lifeless in the hospital, and admitted he "wished" he was the one who had died.

In the grieving family's first official interview since the sudden passing of the pop icon last week, Jermaine described how "empty" he felt as he came to terms with the shocking news.

Speaking on the "Today" show, he said, "There's nothing that can compare to this. We lost our brother, our healer. The world is mourning, we are mourning, the fans are mourning, it's unbelievable.

"I wanted to see Michael and see my brother. Seeing him lifeless and breathless was very emotional for me, but I held myself together because I knew he was very much alive and his spirit (lives on).

"I was just a shell. I kissed him on his forehead, I hugged him and I touched him and I said to him, 'Michael, I'll never ever leave you. You'll never leave me.' I felt really, really empty."

And Jermaine, who is Muslim, admits he would give anything to trade places with his younger brother so that Michael could continue his "good" work on this earth.

The 54 year old adds, "This sounds strange but ... I wish it was me because I always felt that I was his backbone. Someone to be there for him. Things he couldn't say, I would say them.

"Michael is a gift from Allah and He has taken him back. The world didn't appreciate him. The world loved him, but certain people, certain industries, didn't appreciate him.

"His time on this earth, he did good for everyone. He saw the good in people who were claimed to be bad, but he wanted to change things. He sent messages through his songs, through his lyrics, through his actions, going to hospitals, going to orphanages trying to cure children of cancer, trying to bring them enlightenment."

Michael Jackson to be buried without his brain

Michael Jackson is to be buried without his brain, it has been reported.

Following an autopsy at the Los Angeles Coroner's Office, the singer's brain has been detained for neurological tests - including ones to see what drugs he had taken.

Rather than postpone the funeral, the Jackson family has instead decided to bury him without it.

The tests, which cannot be done until the brain has sufficiently hardened, are expected to show up any past drug or alcohol abuse, or overdoses the star may have suffered.

According to The Sunday Mirror, a source from the coroner's office said that removing the brain was 'the only way to carry out the tests'.

'The tissue has to be examined. I can't tell you how long that is going to take,' he said.

The test results could also play a crucial role in criminal investigations into the star's death, the Sunday Express has claimed.

Six of his doctors now face being quizzed by the Drug Enforcement Agency, and the State Attorney General Jerry Brown has ordered an investigation into which pills were

prescribed and dispensed to Jackson - and by whom.

'If there has been abuses, charges will follow,' a spokesman for Mr Brown said.

The star's funeral is taking place on Tuesday morning in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, Los Angeles County, after planning permission for burial at Neverland was refused.

The family had initially planned a funeral procession from the morgue to Jackson's 2800-acre ranch, where a viewing of the body would be open to the public.

Now, however, they are holding a closed-casket family ceremony followed by a public send-off at LA's Staples Centre, during which Stevie Wonder will perform.

Fans have been allocated 11,000 tickets for the event, with an additional 6500 to watch it on giant screens at the nearby Nokia Theatre.

They were up for grabs over the weekend via an online lottery system. Demand was so great, the website crashed when half a million people tried to access it in the first 24 hours, and the televised concert is expected to attract a global audience of three million people.

Meanwhile, a custody battle for Jackson's children looks set to break out.

The singer sensationally named Diana Ross as his children's guardian if his mother Katherine could not fulfill the role - but according to the News of the World, his ex wife Debbie Rowe has said: 'They are my flesh and blood. I'm going after my children.'

New 'family' pictures unearthed by the paper show Jackson and his ex-wife Debbie Rowe with babies Prince and Paris - casting doubt on claims the former nurse was nothing more than a surrogate who had no bond with the children.

Taken two weeks after Paris' birth in 1998, the pictures show Rowe's first meeting with her daughter, whom she kisses and cradles.

'It was obvious Debbie loved her children and there was a strong connection between them. It looked like she was treasuring every second, laughing, kissing and playing with them for about two hours,' the photographer said.

Following her 1999 divorce from Jackson, Rowe signed away her parental rights in exchange for a £5.2million payout.

The star denied bleaching his skin, and claimed he was not gay

But in the wake of child abuse claims in 2003, she then made a bid to regain temporary custody, it has emerged.

In a legal declaration, Rowe claimed her attempts to contact the children were continually thwarted by Jackson, and said she feared he was about to flee the country with them.

The paper also claims that legal documents prove Rowe was impregnated by artificial insemination using donated sperm.

A 13-year-old video has also emerged - during which Jackson is questioned about child-abuse allegations and insists he isn't gay.

The video, from 1996, shows the star being grilled by a team of lawyers, as part of a lawsuit brought by Neverland staff for unfair dismissal.

During the footage, found by the News of the World, the star giggles nervously when asked about having sex with McCauley Culkin - and brands the allegations lies.

'You get to a point where you get tired of people lying. I get tired of situations like this, where people completely lie on me, and I'm sick of it. I want to set the record straight,' he said

The star also denied bleaching his skin white, and maintained he was heterosexual: 'I'm a black American and I'm proud of it. And I'm honoured of it. The bleached skin rumour...is a rumour. I don't bleach my skin,' he said. 'And I'm not gay.'