Radicalized Lebanese pop star wants to go back to ‘normal life’

Lebanese pop-star Fadel Shaker announced in a rare interview that he wanted to go back to “normal life” after he had stopped singing to become a radical Islamist.

The announcement came in Shaker’s first interview since the Sidon battle which left over 50 people killed including 17 soldiers.

During the interview, which took place in Sidon’s Ain al-Hilwe Palestinian refugee camp, the singer appeared in a black suit without his beard.

He said that he wanted to go back to his “normal life” without however clarifying if he would go back to singing.

The King of Romance, who was speaking to Lebanon’s LBC, denied asking his supporters to stop listening to his music after declaring his past career sinful. He also said that he does not have any official page on Facebook.

The pop singer said that he hoped the Lebanese soldiers captured by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and the Nusra Front would be freed.

In 2014, Shaker allegedly appeared in a video claiming the death of two Lebanese soldiers, following a two-day battle in Sidon.

He was later handed the death penalty by a Lebanese judge for his participation in the battle.