Singer Deeyah: So who’s hung up on the ‘Muslim Madonna’?

Is that a gun or are you happy to see me?

In 1998, Canadian Muslim filmmaker Zarqa Nawaz made a film called “Death Threat” in which a young Muslim writer fakes a death threat against her to gain publicity for a new book. The plot backfires when publicity of the threat itself eclipsed all else. Enter 2006, when 28-year old Norwegian-born singer Deeyah – of Indian, Pakistani, and Iranian heritage – stated that she has received death threats after releasing her latest video (though given the recent upsurge in issued death threats, this aspect is likely true). She says the song in the video, ‘What Will It Be,’ is a call for women’s rights in Islam – an issue with which many Muslims would otherwise agree. Deeyah, who spends most of her time these days in the UK and America, cut her teeth on Norwegian independent record labels before aiming for the mainstream pop charts. She has christened herself as a “Muslim Madonna” and is, in fact, working with some of her collaborators. As for the video itself, which resembles Dirrty-era Christina Aguilera (erm… we hear), it is notable for two things: a cameo featuring controversial Islam critic Irshad Manji, and an eerie resemblence to Dutch-Somali ex-Muslim Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s film “Submission,” which led to the murder of co-creator Theo Van Gogh (projected imagery, though not of the Quran, is used on her scantily clad body). However, once the threats subside (or not), there’s the question of finding an audience for the message and music. “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,” said Hoda Fahmy, who works with an education group for Muslim women in Canada. “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.” Musically, it goes without saying that the Sami Yusuf crowd will give Deeyah a pass, though she may also find her song too sabre-rattling for the mainstream hip-hop/R&B crowd, too lacking in the Bollywood-inspired sentimentality of bhangra/Indo-pop, and missing the edgy innovation of artists such as M.I.A.. If she still fails to connect, it may be time for more publicity. The Muslim Council of Britain, normally used to commentary on public policy, felt the need to make a public statement about the matter, declaring that she was probably a Hindu. “Her real name is Deepika Thathaal. That’s certainly not a Muslim name,” said an MCB spokesman. “Our suspicion is that this is all a big publicity stunt.” Perhaps this is true, though some Hindu and Muslim names in India have interchanged over generations. But since public statements like these have been the first introduction to Deeyah for many (including us), the girl must be smiling.

Zahed Amanullah is associate editor of altmuslim.com. He is based in London, England.