Madonna’s £1.6m home gift for sect

Madonna has bought a £1.6million Georgian mansion to be used as a hotel and drop-in centre for the controversial Kabbalah religious sect.

The singer, who became a devotee of the mystical Jewish faith in the 1990s, acquired the five-storey house in Regent’s Park, London, not far from her home in Marylebone.

Neighbour uproar

However, some neighbours are against having a sect on their doorstep.

Zeze el-Dib, 56, said people were wary of Kabbalah and its leaders’ motives.

“We do not want any sect here. I do not want to interfere with anybody’s religious wishes but with Kabbalah we have to be suspicious,” she added.

Another neighbour, who did not wish to be named, said: “Having a Kabbalah centre would be totally inappropriate.

“It is a seriously manipulative sect which is very good at getting people’s money, including Madonna’s.”

However, former Kabbalah member Morris Conroy had no objections.

“This is a Central London location where residents are used to people coming and going,” he said. The teachings of Kabbalah, whose celebrity followers include Britney Spears, Demi Moore and Barbra Streisand, are based on a 4,000-year-old Hebrew philosophy.

‘Crackpot’

Denounced by some rabbis as crackpot, its devotees chant and meditate at meetings into the early hours.

Peter Stillwell, who previously owned the house, believed Kabbalah wanted it as a place for visiting members to stay. “As far as I am concerned, Kabbalah can do what it likes with the building,” he said.

It is the second property that Madonna – or Esther as she is known by other devotees – has bought for the group.

The 46-year-old star has already spent £3.6million on a headquarters in the West End of London.

Interest in Kabbalah has been growing despite claims that converts are brainwashed into handing over a large slice of their earnings to fund the lifestyle of its US-based leader, former insurance salesman and New York rabbi Philip Berg.

Read Another Article

Billy Graham says next crusade may be his last
Time report fuels Guantanamo criticism

Related News Articles Topic(s): Kabbalah Subscribe to Religion News Blog updates Subscribe to Religion News Blog [What is this?] Get Religion News Blog's headline by Email [What is this?] Follow Religion News Blog at Twitter Find Related Information Use our custom search engines to find additional research resources on religions and cults: ApologeticsSearch.com: Search for apologetics articles, books, videos, and other research resources across 135 Christian apologetics websites and blogs. CounterCultSearch.com: Search for information about (religious) cults, cult-like organizations, and cults experts -- as well as paranormal-, New Age, and pseudoscientific claims -- across 260+ websites, blogs and forums dedicated to cult research, spiritual abuse, ex-cult counseling & support. Find Related Religion & Spirituality Books at Amazon.com Kabbalah Possibly related... or Most Popular Religion News Articles Kent Hovind: Evangelist arrested on federal charges Beast’s real mark devalued to ’616′ Muslim Woman Gives Sex Advice on Arab TV Michael Jackson Confirms Conversion to Islam Kent Hovind, ‘Dr. Dino,’ guilty on all counts The fall and rise of Carlton Pearson Search False prophet Harold Camping sets another date for rapture: May 21, 2011 Watch the film Theo van Gogh was murdered for Kent Hovind — Dr. Dino — sentenced to 10 years in prison

Search Religion News Blog