In a gag-inducing turn of events, the Florida Family Association successfully pressured Lowe's, the national hardware chain, to withdraw its advertising from "All American Muslim," a new reality TV show that seeks to challenge Islamophobia.
"All-American Muslim is propaganda clearly designed to counter legitimate and present-day concerns about many Muslims who are advancing Islamic fundamentalism and Sharia law," the Florida Family Association statement read. "The show profiles only Muslims that appear to be ordinary folks while excluding many Islamic believers whose agenda poses a clear and present danger to the liberties and traditional values that the majority of Americans cherish."
Once again, we're treated to that unrepentantly bigoted construct that transforms the entire Muslim community into a caricatured gaggle of terrorists - that casts the overarching majority in the light of an extreme minority - only this time, the corporate giants of America have given the perpetrators of this hate-mongering a colossal victory. Lowe's, for one, made plain the fact that its decision stemmed directly from the Florida Family Association's actions.
Health researcher and Huffington Post commentator Abdulrahman El-Sayed sees echoes of the infamous Jim Crow.
"By pulling its advertisements from a television show meant to normalize the Muslim experience," he argues, "Lowe's and other corporations have tapped into that murky history of institutional discrimination. They have chosen to give way to fear and hate over mutual understanding and inclusiveness, implicitly barring a minority community from access to the public debate on account of the reviling hatred of a few."
Worst of all, "All American Muslim" is precisely the kind of show America needs right now. Set in Dearborn, Michigan, home of America's largest Muslim community, the TLC program chronicles the lives of several Muslim families, and works always to emphasize the ways in which their lifestyles resonate with what it is understood to be conventionally American. One of the stars is a police officer, another a football player.
"For a show meant to convey the truth about the diversity and honest normalness of the lives of average Muslims in the US, it succeeds brilliantly," El-Sayed says. "But some can't believe Muslims could be so normal."
Please join me in singing this extremely articulate petition, demanding that Lowe's reinstate its advertising, and put a stop to a culture that complies all too often with hatred and ignorance.
I would also encourage readers, again, to check out the compelling website My Fellow American, which allows visitors the opportunity to express their views on the Muslim community and Islamophobia through both the written word and video testimonials. As such, it offers the perfect forum for any and all individuals outraged by Lowe's decision to vent their frustration in a capacity that others will hear.
"All-American Muslim is propaganda clearly designed to counter legitimate and present-day concerns about many Muslims who are advancing Islamic fundamentalism and Sharia law," the Florida Family Association statement read. "The show profiles only Muslims that appear to be ordinary folks while excluding many Islamic believers whose agenda poses a clear and present danger to the liberties and traditional values that the majority of Americans cherish."
Once again, we're treated to that unrepentantly bigoted construct that transforms the entire Muslim community into a caricatured gaggle of terrorists - that casts the overarching majority in the light of an extreme minority - only this time, the corporate giants of America have given the perpetrators of this hate-mongering a colossal victory. Lowe's, for one, made plain the fact that its decision stemmed directly from the Florida Family Association's actions.
Health researcher and Huffington Post commentator Abdulrahman El-Sayed sees echoes of the infamous Jim Crow.
"By pulling its advertisements from a television show meant to normalize the Muslim experience," he argues, "Lowe's and other corporations have tapped into that murky history of institutional discrimination. They have chosen to give way to fear and hate over mutual understanding and inclusiveness, implicitly barring a minority community from access to the public debate on account of the reviling hatred of a few."
Worst of all, "All American Muslim" is precisely the kind of show America needs right now. Set in Dearborn, Michigan, home of America's largest Muslim community, the TLC program chronicles the lives of several Muslim families, and works always to emphasize the ways in which their lifestyles resonate with what it is understood to be conventionally American. One of the stars is a police officer, another a football player.
"For a show meant to convey the truth about the diversity and honest normalness of the lives of average Muslims in the US, it succeeds brilliantly," El-Sayed says. "But some can't believe Muslims could be so normal."
Please join me in singing this extremely articulate petition, demanding that Lowe's reinstate its advertising, and put a stop to a culture that complies all too often with hatred and ignorance.
I would also encourage readers, again, to check out the compelling website My Fellow American, which allows visitors the opportunity to express their views on the Muslim community and Islamophobia through both the written word and video testimonials. As such, it offers the perfect forum for any and all individuals outraged by Lowe's decision to vent their frustration in a capacity that others will hear.
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