Update: Politicians, Celebrities, Activists Join Protest Against Lowes’ Boycott of ‘All-American Muslim’

December 13, 2011 By Dilshad Ali

The following is an update to the blog post written by The American Muslim’s Sheila Musaji a few days earlier. New information appears towards the end of the post, including celebrities, politicans, and activists who have joined the protest against Lowes (who pulled its advertising from TLC’s “All-American Muslim”), statements they’ve made, action items, and other news and information. TLC has a reality series called “All-American Muslim” which has aired five out of a planned eight episodes. The program follows five... Read more

My All-American Muslim family is too Boring for TLC

December 12, 2011 By Dilshad Ali

This post first appeared on Nancy Shehata’s “Muslimah in Progress” blog at Patheos. It details her family life, and how most Amerian Muslim familes are not exciting enough to be featured on TLC. As Salaamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullah. Work piled up on my desk (and on the floor, and in the closet, and out in the storage shed), a house full of sniffling, dry hacking, post-nasal-dripping children, more scandalous news than you can shake a stick at, and still I... Read more

Russell Simmons Buys All Advertising Slots for Next Week’s ‘All-American Muslim’

December 12, 2011 By Dilshad Ali

The news is coming fast and furious, with more and more prominent celebrities, politicians and activists — Muslims and non-Muslim — tweeting, facebooking and writing about their anger at Lowes pulling its advertisements from TLC’s “All-American Muslims.” It’s amazing at how fast this outrage and anger has grown against the anti-Muslim groups (like the Florida Family Association) who have targeted this program, and against businesses (namely Lowes) who have pulled their advertising from the program due to pressure from these groups. We all... Read more

Jewish Activist Speaks Out Against Lowes and Anti-Islamic Groups

December 12, 2011 By Dilshad Ali

This is a guest post from author Anya Cordell, recipient of the 2010 Spirit of Anne Frank Outstanding Citizen Award. You may well already know about Lowes pulling its advertising from the TLC program, “All American Muslim,” contributing greatly to the climate of fear and intimidation that now pervades our culture regarding all things Muslim. Below is contact information for the CEO of Lowes, a petition to sign, and more information regarding this important issue, as it adds grease to... Read more

Say No to Bigotry and Lowes and Support ‘All-American Muslim’

December 11, 2011 By Dilshad Ali

The following is a guest post for Sami H. Elmansoury. As one proud American, I have frankly reached my pinnacle in the near-tacit acceptance of the rising tide of fear-mongering by un-American groups that are once again washing in the most heinous types of bigotry across our great nation. My now aging American grandfather proudly came to the United States in the late 1960s at the heels of war to seek liberty and freedom — things that he deeply cherishes... Read more

Support ‘All-American Muslim,’ Sign the Peition and Watch the Show

December 10, 2011 By Dilshad Ali

It’s all over the social networks now – that Lowes pulled its advertising from TLC’s series, “All-American Muslim” Sheila Musaji at The American Muslim reported on this earlier, and Patheos reprinted her post on Thursday (giving great detail on the boycott). But it was Friday night that the real explosion took place, when mainstream media reported and confirmed what we already knew: “The Florida Family Association, a Tampa Bay group, has led a campaign urging companies to pull ads on... Read more

American Companies Accused of Joining the All-American Anti-Muslim Bandwagon

December 8, 2011 By Dilshad Ali

The following is a guest blog from Sheila Musaji, editor-in-chief and founder of the The American Muslim. TLC has a reality series called “All-American Muslim,” which has aired four out of a planned eight episodes. The program follows five Lebanese American families in Dearborn, Michigan. The Islamophobia network was enraged that this program only depicts normal American Muslim families, and doesn’t include terrorists, criminals, perverts, and other types that exist in the Muslim community (as they do in all communities). ... Read more

TLC’s ‘All-American Muslim’: A Step in the Right Direction

December 6, 2011 By Dilshad Ali

This is a guest post from author Arsalan Iftikhar. Network news anchor Katie Couric once declared that “bigotry expressed against Muslims in this country was one of the most disturbing stories to surface” in the last few years. At the time, Couric was referring to the proposed Park51 Islamic Center in lower Manhattan (sinisterly referred to as the ‘Ground Zero Mosque’ by right-wing opponents), which generated national media attention around the country. “Maybe we need a Muslim version of ‘The... Read more

Standing Up for ‘All-American Muslim’

December 6, 2011 By Dilshad Ali

This is a guest post from Sami Elmansoury, who serves on the executive board of the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC). The piece, which appeared first on Elmansoury’s Facebook page, elicited an interesting thread of comments, which explored the influence of fame on the cast members’ religious journey, and how the show is a good lesson in the constant religious self-questioning many Americans experience. Click here to read the comment thread. Standing Up for “All-American Muslim” I have watched both... Read more

What the Hijab does NOT do

December 5, 2011 By Dilshad Ali

Before TLC’s “All-American Muslim” aired a few weeks back, I and several other journalists received two episodes to watch and review, so I knew that Samira Amen-Fawaz, who wore a headscarf as a child/teenager and then later took it off after 9/11, would be donning her hijab again. She had a number of reasons for doing it, but what alarmed me was when she visited her local imam to ask for advice on infertility. In her discussions about what her... Read more