Religious Right Groups Launch Fight Against TLC Reality Show

When TLC introduced a reality show about Muslim families living in Dearborn, Michigan, called All-American Muslim, it didn’t take long for anti-Muslim activists to throw a fit that the families in the program didn’t fit their stereotype of Muslims as bloodthirsty and devious terrorists. Robert Spencer urged TLC to make a show about an American Muslim who “ended up participating in jihad activity,” and the Florida Family Association claimed to have convinced eighteen companies to pull their ads from the show.

Earlier this year, the same group demanded companies stop advertising on TeenNick because the show Degrassi featured a transgender character. The FFA said in an alert to members:

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.

…

Clearly this program is attempting to manipulate Americans into ignoring the threat of jihad and to influence them to believe that being concerned about the jihad threat would somehow victimize these nice people in this show.

Forida [sic] Family Association sent out an email alert on November 15, 2011 to inform supporters about The Learning Channel’s new show called All-American Muslim and encouraged supporters to send emails to advertisers.

Truth in Action Ministries, formerly Coral Ridge Ministries, also attacked the reality show and said it is part of the “stealth jihad”:

Jerry Newcombe, Truth in Action Ministries' senior producer and analyst, says the major problem with the program is that it's not going to show the reality of "pure Islam."

"It's a free country. Muslims are free to practice their religion here (thanks to Christianity, ultimately). What is sad, though, is that the truth about the goals of radical Islam are hidden from many Americans through programs like the one on TLC. Islam wants to take over the world. If they have to use force, they'll do that. But otherwise, they'll do it by what Robert Spencer calls 'stealth jihad,'" Newcombe said.