Washington: ‘Nation Of Islam‘ leader Louis Farrakhan has rushed to pop icon Michael Jackson’s defence, as the troubled pop star continues his fight against nine counts of child molestation charges.
Farrakhan pledged his support to the ‘Thriller’ star who stands accused of sexually abusing a teenage boy during an annual speech to supporters of his radical black Muslim group in Chicago.
“We don’t believe Michael is guilty. And there are a lot of people that know the mother who is accusing him and the little boy that he helped to heal, and they don’t believe Michael is guilty,” Farrakhan was quoted by rate the music, as saying.
The outspoken spiritual head also lashed out at people who are already pronouncing a guilty verdict on the music sensation.
He claimed that black people are always condemned in an unfair way by the white population and the media before they are judged in a court of law.
“What happened to the presumption of innocence? See, black people are always guilty until they are proved innocent; white people are innocent until they are proved guilty,” the spiritual leader said.
Meanwhile, Jackson’s aides have insisted that the pop star has not converted to Islam and is still a Jehovah’s Witness.
However, it is known that Farrakhan’s son-in-law, Leonard Muhammad, is on the singer’s payroll and provides security for the pop star.