<p>I’ve watched a few episodes of All American Muslim, and found it informative and, at times, amusing. It’s just another reality show, but centered around three or four different middle class Muslim families in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. So why are so many people (or is it just a very vocal minority?) offended by it, insisting that Lowes and other advertisers pull their ads from the show? Have you seen the show? What do you think?</p>
<p>From what I’ve observed from the most vociferous opponents…it is mostly driven by a mixture of anti-Muslim, anti-minority, and xenophobic sentiments combined with a heavy dose of ignorance and anti-intellectualism…and the desire to impose them on everyone else.</p>
<p>What cobrat said.</p>
<p>To add to that, the basic gist is that the show fails to portray Muslims as extremist terrorists intent on bringing Sharia Law to America and destroying all of our Christian cultural values. Thus, according to its detractors, it is pro-Muslim propaganda that will contribute to the downfall of America. </p>
<p>And to think that Lowe’s pulled their advertising dollars to appease people who believe such tripe. I know where I will not be shopping for my future home improvement needs.</p>
<p>There is some wisdom in this saying: Do not talk about religion in public.</p>
<p>By covering this topic, no matter how you spin it, you may please, say, 20 percents of the population but at the same time offend 20 percents of the population. There is no way around this.</p>
<p>Because the country has too many All American Bigots.</p>
<p>I have to say that I’m extremely disappointed by Lowes, and intend to let them know that they have lost my business. They do indeed seem to have bowed obeisance to the lowest common denominator in this country, and are churlishly unashamed of the naked bigotry with which they’ve aligned themselves.</p>
<p>^^ Good idea, poetsheart, I’ll jump on that Lowes boycott bandwagon too. </p>
<p>My take: The All American Bigots fear that this show is demonstrating what alot of us know from personal experience: Muslims are ordinary Americans. The Bigots fear that the rest of the country is seeing that their favorite bogeyman isn’t a bogeyman at all. And these people don’t know what to do with themselves if they don’t have someone to hate.</p>
<p>H. L. Menken.</p>
<p>I met Mr. Mencken at his home in Baltimore this past weekend.</p>
<p>It’s an interesting show with interesting characters. One small quibble - it’s actually filmed in Dearborn, MI, where at least 30% of the residents are of Arab descent.</p>
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<p>Maybe because American experience a different reality about Islam every time they pass through security at airports, or read about an underwear bomber, or a shoe bomber, or a truck bomber in Times Square or a military doctor who kills his own soldiers in the name of his religion. Let me know when the show has an episode about how much they loves Jews and believe that Israel has the right to exist.</p>
<p>Are you implying muslims possess a common negative feeling toward Jews? If so, I certainly do not believe this is the case.</p>
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<p>Absolutely.</p>
<p>“Are you implying Muslims possess a commom negative feeling toward Jews?”</p>
<p>Without a doubt.</p>
<p>From personal observation, I believe that most Muslims are taught not to think too highly of Jews. This goes back to the history of the religion, before Israel/Palestine.</p>
<p>However, most Muslims are against terrorism and against imposing their beliefs upon others.</p>
<p>I’m glad this show is on the air and I hope it opens the minds of many people.</p>
<p>Did Lowes actually release a statement as to their reasons for pulling the ads? </p>
<p>I highly doubt it is because of Muslim historical view of the Jewish religion and the State of Israel …but I could be wrong…</p>
<p>[Lowe’s</a> defends pulling commercials from ‘All-American Muslim’ show | The Asbury Park Press | APP.com](<a href=“http://www.app.com/article/20111212/NJBIZ/312120110/Lowe-s-defends-pulling-commercials-from-All-American-Muslim-show]Lowe’s”>http://www.app.com/article/20111212/NJBIZ/312120110/Lowe-s-defends-pulling-commercials-from-All-American-Muslim-show)</p>
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<p>Thanks for posting…based on that statement, someone should pull their advertising from many shows on TV that are politically incorrect (which this was apparently </p>
<p>Glad our local hardware store is Home Depot…</p>
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<p>So, would you say that the reverse is also true?</p>
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<p>Hmm. I think that Muslims are taught not to think too much of ANY unbeliever. (Like adherents of almost any religion, of course.) BUT it is my understanding that Islam historically allowed certain religious groups–“People of the Book”–to live in Muslim countries unmolested if they paid a special tax. This included Jews, Sabians, and Christians, and at some point Hindus. It is also my understanding that historically Jews were relatively secure and unmolested in Muslim countries/the Ottoman Empire as compared to Christian Europe.</p>
<p>I am no big fan of any religion, and Islam less than most. One of the MANY things I dislike about Islam is the absence of separation of church and state. I also do not buy this “religion of peace” stuff that people are currently peddling. (Sure, the Sufi mystics were and are peaceful. But look at everyone else. Islam was spread by the sword, and much of its teaching is inherently violent. And don’t tell me that so was Christianity, because A) I am not a Christian and I am not saying that Christianity was historically any better in that regard, and B) a Christian who is violent is so in DIRECT violation of everything that is known about his or her prophet’s teachings, not so in Islam.)</p>
<p>“American experience a different reality about Islam every time they pass through security at airports”</p>
<p>What have I experienced about Islam in airport security? I’ve gone through many times, and never learned anything about Muslims.</p>
<p>One thing that’s held true across thousands of years of human history and hundreds of religions and cultures…the people perpetrating violence are mostly young men, not females, not children, and not the elderly. If the propensity of a group toward violence justified bigoted assumptions against individual members of that group, it’s young men, not Muslims, who’d get most of my attention. But no one’s pulled any advertising from the NFL to protest this problem, as far as I know.</p>