[1] In addition to his government positions, Abdullah is chairman of the Bahrain Motor Federation and the Commission Internationale de Karting.
[3][4] Following the 2005 tragedy of Hurricane Katrina, and wanting to help revive Jackson's music career,[5] Sheikh Abdullah suggested that Jackson record a song (which Abdullah had written lyrics for) as a Katrina charity single, entitled "I Have This Dream".
[8] In November 2008, after trying to recover from Jackson £4.7 million in fees that the singer had said were "gifts", Abdullah sued him through the mutually agreed High Court in London.
[9] Abdullah claimed that, despite having paid the $2.2 million (£1.5 million) cost for Jackson to record a song intended to benefit the victims of Hurricane Katrina, the singer failed to show at the studio for the final recording session, and thus song was never released.
Bankim Thanki QC (representing Abdullah) told the High Court that, the day after Jackson's criminal trial ended in California, he recorded a song which Abdullah had wanted released as a charity single to help the victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami,[citation needed] and that Abdullah felt "a strong sense of personal betrayal" after forming "a close personal relationship" with the singer.