Brit-raised Muslim hubby persuades pregnant Janet Jackson to leave her raunchy nipple-flashing days behind
Friends claim Janet has converted to Islam since marrying Qatari-born billionaire Wissam in secret
STROLLING down a London street shrouded in a sombre, veiled tunic, pregnant Janet Jackson looked the very picture of Islamic modesty.
Long gone was the raunchy pop star we once knew, who infamously exposed her breast with a nipple ring during a performance at the Super Bowl.
But the 50-year-old’s choice of chaste garb 11 days ago in her new home city is no surprise to friends.
They claim Janet has undergone a full Muslim conversion since marrying a mysterious Qatari-born billionaire Londoner nine years her junior.
They say she is “totally besotted” with strict Muslim Wissam Al Mana, who she wed in secret in 2012.
A source said: “When she’s visiting Wissam’s family in the Middle East she wears no make-up, no hair extensions and keeps to traditional Muslim clothing.
“She feels like she has found a home with her new religion. She has spent a great deal of time studying it.
"The days of raunchy dance moves and sexual lyrics are long gone.”
What a change for the woman who jump-started her solo career in 1993 with a Rolling Stone cover shot that is still regarded as one of the magazine’s sexiest ever.
It featured hands reaching around from behind her and clasping her breasts, next to a headline reading: “Janet Jackson: the Joy of Sex”.
Her song titles also ramped up her steamy image — Any Time, Any Place, Twenty Foreplay and Go Deep to name just three.
He’s a man of religion and solid morals
During a 2008 tour she even gave fans lap dances on stage.
But most scandalous, of course, was the nipple-flashing “wardrobe malfunction” at the 2004 Super Bowl.
The incident in Houston, Texas, made “Janet Jackson” the most searched-for term ever on the web to that date and even gave YouTube co-creator Jawed Karim the idea to start the video-sharing site.
He missed Janet’s half-time show and was unable to find any videos of it online, and began working on a site where people could easily upload clips.
So just who is the man who has brought about such a dramatic change in the star’s behaviour?
Born in Qatar’s capital Doha and worth an estimated £820million, Wissam is executive director of family business the Al Mana Group.
The sprawling conglomerate is made up of 55 companies — including one that owns all the McDonald’s outlets in Qatar — and was started by his late father, merchant Saleh Al Hamad Al Mana.
Wissam, who runs the company with his two brothers, is responsible for overseeing retail operations in the Middle East for luxury brands including Harvey Nichols, Hermes, Stella McCartney and Armani.
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His father before him was instrumental in first luring top designer labels out to the Middle East.
When Wissam was just two the family moved to West London.
He was educated here and once told how at 14 he applied for a job in every fashion store on the King’s Road in Chelsea before finally landing a weekend post at a boutique selling designer brands.
It was there the magnate says he learned crucial lessons about retail that have helped him expand his family’s vast empire.
He attended university in Washington then returned to the UK to study at the London School of .
Wissam, 41, once said: “My father passed away when I was quite young, and I felt that it was my duty to pick up the flag and to continue the business — and try to continue the legacy and the family name.
“It’s in our blood, we’re merchants. When I was a child, I looked at my father’s passport and his occupation said ‘Merchant’.
“I asked my mom, and she explained that we are merchants. We take pride in that, it’s our heritage.”
Wissam, who goes by the nickname Sam, often wears a traditional white Arabic garment known as a thawb, maintains no social media accounts and rarely gives interviews.
Another source in the United Arab Emirates told us last week: “Sam was well-known on the VIP scene in Dubai. But he was not a playboy — he’s a good man.
“Until Janet he’s rarely had serious relationships so publicly. He’s a man of religion and solid morals.”
Wissam has been open about allowing his strict Muslim faith to govern his business decisions.
He has said: “It was my choice not to venture to alcohol and pork because it’s against my religion.
"It’s really that simple. I thought it was the right decision to take.”
And he has publicly urged the fashion brands he looks after in the Middle East to tone down advertising deemed too racy for Islam.
He said: “We tell them time and time again we need visuals that conform to this part of the world and culture here.”
Wissam lists his hobbies as “antiques, reading and art” but did find time during his US college days to date a stripper and Playboy model.
In 2013 36DD model Gwen Rogers recalled: “He was a great guy. He was very religious.”
That same year Wissam ran into controversy when he was accused of sacking a 24-year-old employee from his interior design firm who reported being raped during a business trip to Dubai.
Norwegian Marte Dalelv told police she had been raped by a colleague — but was subsequently sentenced to 16 months in prison for having sex outside marriage.
She was later pardoned after an international outcry.
But Marte claimed she was suspended from her job after reporting the crime and three weeks later received a termination letter signed by Al Mana himself.
It stated: “Your employment agreement is terminated due to your unacceptable and improper behaviour during your last business trip in Dubai, which has resulted in your arrest by the Police Authorities in UAE.”
The company hit back, claiming Dalelv was fired after she “declined to have positive and constructive discussions about her employment status” and not because of the rape.
Wissam met his famous wife-to-be at the opening of a hotel in Dubai in 2010. The pair soon became inseparable.
Thank you for your divine love and support
Going public with her relationship in 2011, the then twice-married Janet said: “I’m getting older and I feel more settled. We have a deep bond, a deep connection.”
The couple announced their engagement in 2012, marrying in secret shortly afterwards and only revealing the marriage a year later.
It appears Janet has had limited contact with her family for some years, with sister La Toya, 60, admitting: “I didn’t know Jan was married until I heard about it through the media.”
Meanwhile loved-up Wissam penned a message to his wife on his personal website, using the Arabic term for “God willing”.
He wrote: “To the most beautiful person in the world. Thank you for your divine love, your eternal support and for being my best friend. I love you so much, inshallah. We will be together in the Great Forever.”
Upon marrying Wissam, Janet largely dropped out of view.
He once told how the pair travel the globe seeking out privacy.
He said: “We love travelling . . . we love going to nice exotic places away from the world and from prying eyes.”
Janet made a brief foray back into the public eye when she released album Unbreakable in October last year.
But soon afterwards the singer announced she was postponing the planned accompanying world tour indefinitely because she was “planning a family with her husband”.
And earlier this month Janet publicly announced her pregnancy at 50, posing for a rare magazine photo which showcased her bump — under an outfit that covered her all the way up to the neck.
Her only comment to the mag was as modest as her dress: “We thank God for our blessing.”