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Pharrell Williams 'Happy': British Muslims dance to song in video

Members of the public, scholars, activists, celebrities, students, and bloggers all dance like there's no tomorrow in the video

Kashmira Gander
Wednesday 16 April 2014 11:58 EDT
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Two young British Muslims dance in The Honesty Policy's 'Happy' video
Two young British Muslims dance in The Honesty Policy's 'Happy' video (The Honesty Policy/YouTube )

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After Pharrell Williams wept on Oprah over the success of his song Happy and the incredible number of parody videos shot the world over, the ‘British Muslims Dance to Happy’ video will give him another reason to cry with joy.

The video features men, women, and a good handful of ecstatic-looking children bopping around to Pharrell’s hit in choice locations including: on a bike, at the park, at a bus-stop, in the back-garden, at a mosque, Wembley stadium, and even in the sweet aisle of a supermarket.

40 seconds into the video, after a man leaps spectacularly at the camera, the video is interrupted by a shot of stern-looking Cambridge University Dean Abdal Hakim Murad, who then smiles and lifts a sign saying “I’m Happy”.

The Honesty Policy blog behind the video wrote on its website: “This is what we want to be about. A national community coming together for each others sake.[sic] Each individual giving a bit of their time for the greater good.

Read more:Brazilian students dance to 'Happy' in protest

"We have scholars, activists, celebrities, students, professionals, bloggers and everyday’ers all in one video.

“We Brits have a bad rep for being a bit stiff, but this video proves otherwise. We are HAPPY. We are eclectic. We are cosmopolitan. Diverse. Creative. Fun. Outgoing. And everything you can think of.”

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