So that's what their hiding under those burkas...
Posted on 11/21/2005 8:24:44 AM PST by Nasty McPhilthy
MICHELLE Leslie hit back last night at allegations that she has been faking her devotion to the Muslim faith.
Ms Leslie has said she is a Muslim, despite walking out of the Bali prison where she spent three months wearing jeans and a tight singlet, abandoning the hijab she wore throughout her trial.
"Religion and her beliefs are a very personal thing to her," Ms Leslie's spokesman, Sean Mulcahy, said last night.
"If Michelle has offended anyone, she apologises."
Islamic Friendship Association of Australia head Keysar Trad made the point that many Muslim women were models, or even belly dancers, and praised Leslie for adopting the Islamic faith.
"Sometimes it takes time for people to adhere to all the tenets," he said. "We should give her the benefit of the doubt."
Mr Mulcahy said last night Ms Leslie had finally met in Singapore with Siti Namira, the Indonesian woman who put the two ecstasy tablets in Ms Leslie's handbag that led to her serving three months in a Bali jail.
He said the meeting between the two young models "went well".
"Namira was glad to see Michelle, and relieved that she was out of jail. They spent a couple of hours together over coffee," Mr Mulcahy said. This was despite Ms Leslie's apparent despair during her hearings over Ms Namira's failure to appear on her former friend's behalf.
The Australian revealed two weeks ago that Ms Namira was the mystery Mia, who Ms Leslie said during her trial for drug possession at Denpasar District Court had given her the tablets as a substitute for her anti-anxiety medication Ritalin.
A source at the heart of Ms Leslie's defence team has described to The Australian how that story was concocted, including the fabrication of witness statements and of actual witnesses, as well as of blood and urine test results, in order to secure her early release from the overcrowded Kerobokan jail.
The source said Ms Namira put the tablets in Ms Leslie's handbag after police began a search outside a dance party being held at the outdoor Garuda Wisnu Kencana park in southern Bali.
Mr Mulcahy has been shopping Ms Leslie's story around the media for about as long as she has been in prison in Bali. But as of yesterday no one in the media was owning up to being a buyer. Commercial television networks Nine, Seven and Ten have all declined to part with any cash.
That leaves print, and the most likely outlet for a paid print interview remains Pacific Magazines's New Idea.
The women's magazine paid Leslie for a story while she was in jail. Editor Robyn Foyster told The Australian last night she was waiting on legal advice to clear the way for any purchase.
Nine's director of news and current affairs Mark Llewellyn said he would not pay for the interview because the audience would be unimpressed by Leslie profiting from her crime.
Seven's news and current affairs director Peter Meakin said he was very interested in her story but not for a fee.
It could well prove academic if the commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions decides the model must forfeit any money she makes from media interviews.
Additional reporting: Amanda Meade
What a load of crap.
So that's what their hiding under those burkas...
So many people look alike these days. I may get some surgery so that I can look like a red "x".
"Sometimes it takes time for people to adhere to all the tenets," ......like weairing bomb belts???????
"Mr Mulcahy has been shopping Ms Leslie's story around the media"
Ya can bet your booties there'll be a book around the corner about Ms. Leslie's horrific experience and staying devout to her faith, yada, yada, yada.
Yep, all around.
Great. Now get in line for your circumcision.
Huh? 1) Ritalin is not an "anti-anxiety medication", and 2) Ecstasy is not a remotely viable substitute for any anxiety or ADD medication. This gal is full of it, across the board.
She probably got Muslim confused with Muslin, as in the sweaters.
Did she claim to be Muslim before she was arrested? Or did she make it up as part of her effort to get released? If the latter, it makes sense, but she would have to pretend to be Muslim for a while, or else she would be on the Rushdie hit list.
Yeah! Just give her a little time. Why, in no time at all she'll be calling for death to all infidels and strapping on that explosive belt. Yup! Only a matter of time.
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