Maybe it was Michael Jackson's idea of respect for the tradition of modesty in his new adoptive country of Bahrain. Maybe it was a simple misunderstanding about Islamic dress.

But when the pop star went shopping in a Bahrain mall today, he covered himself from head to toe in a black abaya robe traditionally worn by local women.

The pop star completed his outfit with a black gauzy veil hiding his face. Three children who accompanied him also had their faces swathed with dark scarves.

Jackson, who seems to be settling into his new life in the Persian Gulf, was seen leaving Marina Mall through a back door, holding a child by the hand. He paused to shake hands with the security guards.

He was wearing an abaya, a robe with long sleeves, under which his black trousers, white shirt and men’s shoes could be seen. He wore sunglasses and had black gloves on his hands.

The veil, abaya and gloves were of a style typically worn by conservative Bahraini women to ward off the lustful gazes of men, though Jackson may have been wearing them to hide his identity.

With him was an unidentified woman wearing an abaya over her jeans, her face partly covered by a scarf, who led the two other children. According to one report it was the singer's sister, Janet.

All three children’s faces were wrapped in black scarves, and they wore yellow shirts and jogging bottoms or combat trousers without robes. It is likely that they were the star's own children. "Please, no!" Jackson shouted to photographers before making a rapid exit.

The woman asked photographers to respect their privacy, warning them that they were scaring the children, as the five left in a white limousine with darkened glass.

Since he was acquitted in June of child molestation, Jackson has made several trips to Bahrain as a guest of Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad al-Khalifa, a son of Bahrain’s king. He appears to intend to leave the United States and make his life in the Gulf permanently.

A press release earlier this month reported that the singer was negotiating a consultancy role with a Bahrain-based company that plans to set up theme parks and music academies in the Middle East.

AAJ Holdings Ltd, owned by Ahmed Abu Bakr Janahi, said that it wanted to hire the 47-year-old star to advise on setting up entertainment businesses.

He is reportedly building a home in Bahrain, an island nation in the Persian Gulf which is linked to Saudi Arabia by a bridge.

In November, Jackson stirred a small controversy in the United Arab Emirates by entering the ladies' toilets in a shopping mall. His publicist said that Jackson, who arrived in Dubai as the guest of the champion rally driver Mohammed bin Sulayem, did not understand the Arabic sign on the door and left as soon as he realised his mistake.

Mr bin Sulayem, dismissed as "rumour" local newspaper reports that the 47-year-old performer was seen applying make-up in the woman’s toilets in a Dubai mall.

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