Guest Post by Monique About the Recent Lowe's/All-American Muslim Controversy

As you may know, there recently was a controversy involving Lowe's decision to pull their ads from the TLC reality show All-American Muslim. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to write a post in a timely manner. However, I recently visited moniqueblog and noticed that she wrote an excellent piece on the topic. I asked Monique if she'd be willing to let me borrow it for Diversity Ink and she kindly obliged.

 

“All-American Muslim”: The Lowe’s controversy

Credit: Wikipedia
 
I actually intended on talking about this controversy a whole lot sooner than I am, but I’m talking about it now. Recently, Lowe’s has been in the middle of a firestorm concerning their initial support–then non-support–of the TLC show All-American Muslim. According to myfellowamerican.us:

“ [L]ast week Lowe’s Home Improvement pulled its ads from the TLC show All-American Muslim in response to an organization claiming the show “falsely humanized Muslims in America.” The Lowe’s controversy has exposed more Islamophobia in America. This issue falls directly in line with what the My Fellow American project is trying to prevent and overcome in America.”

According to this post, the main group behind the statements about humanization is the fringe group the Florida Family Association.

I’m more than appalled at how some people have the nerve to say that this show about HUMANS ”falsely humanize[s]” HUMANS. Let’s get some things straight here:

• Islam is not only a religion, it is the second-largest religion in the world and is growing every day.
• Not all Muslims come from the Middle East. Islam has a very big community in the United States. In fact, some of my own family members are Muslim. Basically, ANYONE can be a Muslim–you don’t have to look like a certain person to be a Muslim.
• Islam, Judaism and Christianity are ALL RELATED. They stem from the same stories and teachings. If you respect one of the three, you should respect them all, since they are all related to each other.
• Saying that Muslims are being “falsely humanized” is not a very Christian-like thing to say. It’s not a very spiritual thing to say period. It’s gross and stupid.

So that’s my stance on this. Lowe’s should be the bigger person in this situation and actually stand for acceptance of all people. Let’s face it–it’s not just Christians who shop at Lowe’s. Muslims like home-renovation just as much as anyone else, and Lowe’s profits should diminish once some clientele stops showing up.

If you want to voice your opinion about this, make sure to go to My Fellow American. You can also share your own stories of acceptance as well as watch the short film on Muslims in America.

More reading:

The Huffington Post–A new Lowe for Anti-Muslim Bigotry

Adweek–Lowe’s in Facebook Hell as Racist Comments Pile Up

New Left Media Talks To Attendees At Glenn Beck's "Restoring Honor" Rally

Although I first saw this video in late August, I think it's still worth posting.  At Glenn Beck's recent "Restoring Honor" rally, the group New Left Media (which consists of college students Chase Whiteside, Erick Stoll and a camera) interviewed and filmed some of the folks in attendance.  Just as they've done in the past at such events as a Sarah Palin book signing and Tea Party rallies, New Left Media exposes the ignorance and mindlessness by some of the people on the right.  As you'll see, the interviewer (Chase Whiteside) doesn't have to work hard to bring out the ignorance and mindlessness of these people.  This video is loaded with priceless nuggets.  Some of the highlights or (depending on your outlook) lowlights include:

• A man asserts that Al Sharpton is the leader of The Black Panthers (at the 2:48 mark of the clip)
• People say they had never heard Glenn Beck's infamous comments in which he called President Obama a racist (3:23)
• A woman (with no evidence to back it up) accuses President Obama of pitting blacks and whites against each other (4:20)
• Plenty of anti-Muslim sentiment (7:00)

Credit goes to Chase because he somehow manages to keep a straight face throughout all the madness. While watching Hardball with Chris Matthews last night, I was pleasantly surprised to see a piece of this clip. It aired during the segment about the organization (TeaPartyTracker.org) that monitors racism and other forms of extremism within the Tea Party movement. The video put together by New Left Media is on the TeaPartyTracker.org site.

Guest Post by Sue: Insensitivity or Bigotry...

In late August, I contacted Sue (whose blog is titled Helloooo...... Mr. President, are you listening??) and asked if she was interested in writing a guest post. She offered up the following about the so-called "Ground Zero Mosque" controversy:

"Lose your ego, find your compassion."

If Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf has a mantra it is this: "Islamic extremism for the majority of Muslims is an oxymoron; It is a fundamental contradiction in terms."

71% of New Yorkers oppose the building of a mosque in lower Manhattan.. Are they being reasonable or reactionary? Is this about first amendment rights or insensitivity towards 9/11 victims families? It's not the only mosque in Manhattan, so why all the fighting? Not because it's being built on hallowed ground because it is not. It's on a sight 2 blocks from hallowed ground. Peace loving Muslims did not fly planes into the twin towers on 9/11, Islamic extremists did. So I'm baffled by that argument.

So then, who is Imam Rauf?

Fearmongering conservative politicians have called him a radical Muslim, a militant Islamist, and unbelievably "the enemy". His project in lower Manhattan has been framed as a conduit for Hamas to funnel money to domestic terrorist operations.

For those who actually know or have worked with the imam, the descriptions are frighteningly unhinged from reality. The Feisal Abdul Rauf they know spent the past decade fighting against the very same cultural divisiveness and religious-based paranoia that currently surrounds him.

"Imam Feisal has participated at the Aspen Institute in Muslim-Christian-Jewish working groups looking at ways to promote greater religious tolerance," says Walter Isaacson, head of The Aspen Institute. "He has consistently denounced radical Islam and terrorism and promoted a moderate and tolerant Islam. Some of this work was done under the auspices of his own group, the Cordoba Initiative... This is why I find it a shame that his good work is being undermined by this inflamed dispute. He is the type of leader we should be celebrating in America - not undermining."

Just days after the 9/11 attacks, Bush had much to say about the need for religious tolerance even after Islamic extremists carried out the worst foreign attack in history on U.S. soil.

"The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam," Bush said at the Islamic Center of Washington in a speech that set the tenor for when he later sent U.S. troops to fight on Muslim soil in Afghanistan and later Iraq. "That's not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace. These terrorists don't represent peace. They represent evil and war."

He went on to say millions of American Muslims "need to be treated with respect. In our anger and emotion, our fellow Americans must treat each other with respect."

Passionate conservatism is dying in our country. The conservatives care only about regaining power in November. I don't believe for one minute this mosque debate will rage on after the elections, but the lasting effects are sure to harm our nation at home and around the globe.  What this hateful rhetoric means to the terrorists is we are not tolerant of Islam and of our Muslim citizens. We are a country of bigots and if we keep this up we are allowing the terrorists to win. Muslim Americans are enduring hate and bigotry all over this country, more now than ever with the election of Barack Obama.

Things have surely changed in America. What happened to our "melting pot" country? We are bigots, we are hateful towards our Muslim brothers and sisters. I am embarrassed and ashamed of my country today....