A Muslim pop star has hired bodyguards for her upcoming tour in Britain after receiving death threats over her newest video, which features her stripping off a burka to reveal her bikini-clad body.
Deeyah, who has been dubbed the "Muslim Madonna," has been forced to hire security guards to protect her in London next month while she promotes a new single and video, according to the British newspaper The Independent.
The 27-year-old Norwegian-born star has become the target of threats from religious extremists who are angry about the video for her song What Will It Be, which she argues is about Muslim women's rights and empowerment. The video features Irshad Manji, the Toronto-based feminist Muslim writer, ripping off a strip of tape that covers her mouth.
On Ms. Manji's official Web site, she said she participated in the video because Deeyah represents "integrity and independence of thought." She added that since the release of the video, Deeyah has received a string of death threats and media outlets have "succumbed to the intimidation of angry Muslims, and are low-balling a great tune."
Deeyah, who divides her time between the United Kingdom and the United States, filmed the video in the U.S. and in India -- where, according to her Web site, she was chased around "the bumpy roads of Mumbai by a truck full of Muslim men who are angry at the [sight] of the sultry pop star being filmed." Filming sites in Los Angeles had to be kept secret due to "more threats to Deeyah's safety," her site says.
In her video, the faces of "women who have been killed in the name of 'honour' " are projected on to Deeyah's naked back. She also dances in the streets wearing a halter top.
"My core message in this video is the right of a woman to choose her own path and express herself without the fear of violence or cultural excommunication," she says on Ms. Manji's Web site.
"After years of being called a 'whore,' 'devil' and 'bringer of shame' by people who use Islam as their shield, I have decided to let this video speak for me ... I am tired of the people who clamour at the slightest hint of skin on a Muslim woman but who will not speak up when a woman is beaten and even murdered in the name of Islam."
Hoda Fahmy, who works with a group that provides education to Muslim women in Canada, says Deeyah's message is lost along with the singer's clothing.
"A lot of us are working for women's rights, particularly in the Muslim world. I think we have more self-respect than to dance around naked to make our point," she said. "It's unfortunate that she has to use those means, because it's true -- women are not able to speak up in a lot of these countries."
Muslim pop star gets death threats over video
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