Criticism abounds as Lowe’s pulls ad from Muslim show

Anger, resentment and calls for boycotting Lowe’s Home Improvement have gained steam after the retail giant removed its ads from a reality television program on American Muslims. The home improvement retailer had been advertising on TLC’s “All-American Muslim” program, but after a conservative group, the Florida Family Association, complained and sent in a number of letters to the company, it decided to remove the ads, sparking widespread condemnation. The ultra-conservative Christian group in Florida called the program “”propaganda that riskily hides the Islamic agenda’s clear and present danger to American liberties and traditional values.” The show itself, follows five families in Dearborn, Michigan, a Detroit suburb with the largest Arab-American population in the country. It chronicles their lives and has been met with success. The move to pull the ads has already seen angry responses, including a state senator from Southern California, who on Sunday said he was considering calling for a boycott of the company over the matter. Calling the Lowe’s decision “un-American” and “naked religious bigotry,” Senator Ted Lieu, a Democrat from Torrance, was quoted by The Associated Press as saying he would also consider legislative action if Lowe’s doesn’t apologize to Muslims and reinstate the ad campaign. The senator sent a letter outlining his complaints to Lowe’s Chief Executive Officer Robert A. Niblock. “The show is about what it’s like to be a Muslim in America, and it touches on the discrimination theysometimes face. And that kind of discrimination is exactly what’s happening here with Lowe’s,” Lieu said. The Florida group, according to AP, had sent three emails to its members, asking them to petition Lowe’s to pull its advertising. Its website was updated to say that “supporters’ emails to advertisers make a difference.” The North Carolina-based Lowe’s issued a statement apologizing for having “managed to make some people very unhappy.” “Individuals and groups have stron political and societal views on this topic, and this program became a lightning rod for many of those views,” the statement said. “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.” For many, including Lieu, the apology is little consolation. He vowed to investigate whether Lowe’s violated California law and added that he would look into drafting a senate resolution of condemnation against the company. In LA, Muslims have been shocked over the revoking of the ad over the Florida-based conservative group. Yussif Chahine, a Moroccan-American who grew up in Burbank, and works as a technician at a studio in Studio City, told Bikyamasr.com that the “fears against Muslims in America are real, so it isn’t surprising many of us.” However, he added that he hoped the company “would understand that it is more important to avoid falling victim to these propaganda campaigns that are the most harmful to the idea of freedom and America.” Since the ad was removed, Lieu and others are callling on Lowe’s to rectify its mistake by developing a campaign of tolerance to show it can overcome the errors of its ways.