Deeyah video adds fury to fundamentalist fire

“I can’t walk around without bodyguards,” rues the Norwegian singer who now lives in the US. “I’d be lying if I said abuse from religious fanatics didn’t upset or scare me.”
Extremist hackles were raised last month when the video for her new single, ‘What Will Be?’, showed the 28-year-old tearing off a traditional burka to reveal a bikini.
“We played the video a couple of times and then did not play it again,” says a spokesperson for the UK’s B4U TV satellite channel. “We had threats which we were forced to take very seriously.”
The story rakes on another dimension with the Muslim Council of Britain accusing Deeyah of being Hindu.
“Her real name is Deepika Thathaal,” they say. “That’s certainly not a Muslim name. Our suspicion is that it’s all a big publicity stunt.”