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December 14, 2011 | 1:52 PM | By

Readers sound off on Lowe’s pulling ads from ‘All-American Muslim’

The recent decision by the national Lowe’s Home Improvement chain to pull its advertising from “All-American Muslim,” a TLC reality show, has landed the company in a public relations mess. The home improvement chain made its decision after being targeted, along with other advertisers, by a religious-right Christian activist group called the Florida Family Association.

The group has condemned the show, a reality series which follows five Muslim families in Dearborn, Michigan, as “propaganda” on its website.

Here’s what Lowe’s posted on its Facebook page explaining its decision to pull the ads:

Individuals and groups have strong political and societal views on this topic, and this program became a lightning rod for many of those views. As a result we did pull our advertising on this program. We believe it is best to respectfully defer to communities, individuals and groups to discuss and consider such issues of importance.

A post yesterday by KPCC’s Yasmin Nouh addressing the anatomy of the Lowe’s controversy drew a long string of comments from readers sharing their thoughts, some of them pretty interesting. Here they are, unedited.

Mandingo wrote in support of the boycott that critics of Lowe’s have called for, and regarding hip hop mogul Russell Simmons supporting the show and buying remaining ad time:

I am boycotting Lowes and support Rusell simson in boycotting them. There should be repercautions for Blantant prejudices

Jskdn wrote:

I think commercial sponsors should only be concerned with the audience they reach and stay out of issues around the programing content. Otherwise they will needlessly involve themselves into political controversies that shouldn’t be their concern. Of course that principle would also apply to the John and Ken show.

A reader whose handle is too profane to print – but whose comment was clean enough – wrote:

Lowes has the right to do what they want. I guess it would be okay if Russell Simmons wanted to protest chic filet because of their Christian standards. Double bias always come from the left and the minorities.

InTheDark replied with this:

The Florida Family Association’s statement was very unfair to a sizable portion of our fellow Americans and to TV producers who dare to show Muslims simply being Americans not involved in advancing Islamic fundamentalism. Lowe’s, by discontinuing their ads, showed either agreement with that unreasonable statement or acceptance of it as legitimate.

The appearance is there—that Lowe’s corporate leadership considers anti-Muslim discrimination and prejudice to be appropriate in American society. Lowe’s could have made a positive gesture in favor of fairness to American religious minorities by continuing the sponsorship it originally undertook with potential consequences anyone could have foreseen. A shame they caved.

So did prado4587:

As a shareholder, I would be disappointed in Lowes’ decision. Muslim Americans are highly educated and high income earners. I like companies I invest in to maximize profits instead of making business decisions based on religious beliefs and perceptions.

But apmd disagreed, writing:

Lowes did the right thing.

(everyone so offended and protective when it concerns anything related to islam)

Lowe’s isn’t the only company to stop advertising on the show. The online travel booking company Kayak admitted it won’t continue advertising on “All-American Muslim” when it returns in January although “we adamantly support tolerance and diversity,” as chief marketing officer Robert Birge wrote on the company website. “Mostly, I just thougth the show sucked,” he wrote.

The Florida Family Association has claimed that several other companies have pulled advertising, but the New York Times reports that at least three have denied the claim, including the Campbell Soup Company, Sears Holdings and Bank of America.

FILED UNDER: Culture/Identity, Economy, Politics/Justice, All-American Muslim, Islam, Lowe's, Muslims, TLC
December 13, 2011 | 10:08 AM | By

Was Lowe’s pulling its ads from ‘All-American Muslim’ warranted?

KPCC’s Yasmin Nouh has been following the controversy over the Lowe’s Home Improvement chain pulling its advertising from “All-American Muslim,” an otherwise innocuous reality show set in Dearborn, Michigan that premiered last month on TLC. The decision to pull the ads, made after the chain was targeted by a religious-right Christian activist group in Florida, has turned into a public relations disaster for Lowe’s, with boycotts threatened and critics alleging bigotry.

What gives? Here’s Yasmin’s report:

Lowe’s Home Improvement, a national chain store, recently pulled out commercials from TLC’s “All-American Muslim” reality show. A right-wing Christian group called the Florida Family Association led a fervent campaign, in which they urged over 60 corporations to end commercials during episodes.

In a statement on their website, the group calls the show “propaganda”:

The Learning Channel’s new show 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 show profiles only Muslims that appear to be ordinary folks while excluding many Islamic believers whose agenda poses a clear and present danger to liberties and traditional values that the majority of Americans cherish.

The group alleges that 65 of 67 companies they targeted have followed Lowe’s move, claiming that Bank of America, Amazon and Home Depot have done the same, but Lowes is the only business that has verified the pull-out. On its Facebook page, the hardware chain posted a statement about its decision, a post that has garnered thousands of comments:

Individuals and groups have strong political and societal views on this topic, and this program became a lightning rod for many of those views. As a result we did pull our advertising on this program. We believe it is best to respectfully defer to communities, individuals and groups to discuss and consider such issues of importance.

The fallout has been predictably intense, with a Facebook group calling for a boycott of the store and an online petition that has collected nearly 12,000 signatures, urging the company to stand up to “bigotry and fear-mongering.”

Muslim groups in the U.S. have been advocating a variety of action items: contact Lowes, sign the petition, send an appreciation tweet to hip hop Mogul Russell Simmons for buying remaining ad time on the reality show, email a thank you to California Sen. Ted Lieu. In an open letter to Lowe’s CEO, Lieu, a Democrat, called Lowe’s decision “bigoted, shameful.”

Muslim bloggers have been sounding off as well. Shiela Musaji, a blogger for theamericanmuslim.org, wrote:

Shame on Lowe’s, and shame on every one of these companies if they really did cave in to such bigotry and hatred.  Did this program not meet Lowe’s advertising guidelines because it showed a Muslim policeman who self-identifies as an American?  Was it because Muslims and Arabs were not portrayed as evil villains who are not “real Americans” and have no right to act as if they are normal human beings with families, mortgages, jobs, etc.? 

Another thing some have sounded off about: As a business decision, what was Lowe’s thinking? From a Facebook post from Nida Chowdhry, a UC Irvine film and media graduate:

In 1950′s TV, black people would be portrayed as either jesters or maids. Nat King Cole’s show got pulled off the air because racist people couldn’t stand seeing a charming, intelligent, talented black man on TV: “After a trail-blazing year that shattered all the old bug-a-boos about Negroes on TV, I found myself standing there with the bat on my shoulder. The men who dictate what Americans see and hear didn’t want to play ball.” MUST WE REPEAT HISTORY? Please send a POLITE message to Lowe’s Home Improvement or https://twitter.com/#!/Lowes.

Let them know that if pleasing anti-Muslim bigots is more important than embracing their diverse customer base, THEY JUST LOST YOUR BUSINESS!

Nancy Salem wrote on the Council of American Islamic Relations Facebook page:

The show doesn’t represent me but I don’t want to spend my money with companies that cave in to Islamophobic behavior.

According to Nova Advertising, a marketing services firm, American Muslims are the “largest, untapped, consumer niche.” Just recently, corporations have begun to tap into the pockets of Muslim consumers, among them Whole Foods, Costco and Bristol Farms, all part of a national supermarket trend to sell halal food products as a way to draw Muslim customers. But such chains, like Whole Foods, are not immune from caving in to Islamophobia as well.

What do you think? Was pulling the ads warranted or a poor decision? Could the move wind up costing Lowe’s more potential customers than had it not pulled the ads?

FILED UNDER: Culture/Identity, Economy, Politics/Justice, All-American Muslim, Lowe's, TLC
November 14, 2011 | 5:32 PM | By

Highlights from the ‘All-American Muslim’ reality-check liveblog

A liveblogged review last night of the premiere of “All-American Muslim,” a new TLC reality show, drew a lively crowd of viewers to the site and a long string of comments. The chat was hosted by KPCC interns Yasmin Nouh and Fareeha Molvi, both second-generation Southern Californians who grew up Muslim in the post-9/11 decade.

One of the reader polls from the liveblog.

They set out to provide a reality check of the show, which follows five Lebanese American families living in the long-established Arab immigrant enclave of Dearborn Michigan. Among the central characters: a cop, a football coach, an aspiring nightclub owner, a young Muslim woman who likes country music and, during last night’s episode, married a young man of Irish American descent.

Would the show reflect the reality of ordinary American Muslims, especially those who have come of age during this unique period in history?

The overall consensus was mixed, leaning heavily toward “not really.” One complaint was that it focused on Lebanese Americans, who with other Arab Americans make up less than half the Muslim immigrants in the U.S. Others had different objections. For example, Nina, the dyed-blond and scantily dressed aspiring nightclub owner, drew some groans for portraying what some viewers considered an extreme example. Menkay wrote:

Why are all the women either total hijabi’s, or the complete opposite of that (tanktops and miniskirts)? I wonder if the show producers were just not able to find a non-hijab-wearing musim girl to be in the show?

“Guest” wrote:

Media only portrays the Muslims that are either very far left or very right, so two extremes here. But what about the majority of Muslims who are in the middle? The muslims that dress modestly, but still call their self American AND Muslim.

Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Culture/Identity, All-American Muslim, Dearborn, Michigan, TLC
November 13, 2011 | 5:05 PM | By

An ‘All-American Muslim’ liveblog reality check

Tonight is the premiere of “All-American Muslim,” a TLC reality show based in Dearborn, Michigan, a long-established Arab American enclave that is home to the largest community of Muslims in the United States. The show follows five families, including a pair of newlyweds, a cop, a football coach, an aspiring nightclub owner and a large family with four grown children.

While they grew up far from Dearborn in Southern California, KPCC interns Fareeha Molvi and Yasmin Nouh can relate to the young people whose lives the show follows. Both grew up Muslim in the post-9/11 era, Fareeha in a Pakistani immigrant family, Yasmin as the daughter of immigrants from Egypt and Iran. While their cultural backgrounds are different, they shared common experiences coming of age during this unique period in history. Will the reality show accurately capture the experience of living as a Muslim in the United States? Join Fareeha and Yasmin at 10 p.m. Pacific time as they liveblog the show’s premiere and provide a reality check.

FILED UNDER: Culture/Identity, All-American Muslim, Dearborn, Michigan, TLC