122 replies to this topic

[Laayla]

yurmuslimfriend, on 15 November 2011 - 10:11 AM, said:

I definatley agree that most of the ppl on this show do not Represent Islam, and many of the things on tht show disgusted me as well, but what about the football coach? He seems sincere alhamdulilah, they even made a movie about him called fordson, I'm just saying not all of the ppl on tht show are the same, though the majority seems like they really need some dua in their life... inshallah khair<3

Bismehe Ta3ala,

Assalam Alikum.

I don't know the football coach on a personal level, but Mash'Allah I think he carries himself well, minus the cursing that comes out of his mouth.  I often have seen him attend Islamic lectures at the ICA. Alhamd'Allah he is the only one who stated that Islam in his life is most important, and then his family and football.  Insh'Allah khair.  If anything good comes out of this program, Insh'Allah it would convince the viewers just to read upon the Quran and Allah swt guide them from there.  But I know this is not the intention of the show.  They want to show the Muslims in a 'positive' light instead of the stereotypical image the country perceives them.

M3 Salamah, FE AMIN Allah

[0feedmeplz]

so u cannot be muslim if u drink alcohol, or dance or celebrate your culture? true we cannot say that they are probably not following islam dictated by quran and sunnah but real talk..they consider themselves submitters to Allah and the prophet muhammad. islam plays a significant part in their lives obviously and HELLOO they are american too. its interesting topic...muslim and american?

[Laayla]

TLC premieres 'All-American Muslim' reality TV show

Shadia Amen has plenty of piercings, a few on her left eyebrow and 20 on her ears. She says her hair changes color monthly, "anywhere from pink to blue-black to black to whatever tickles my fancy."

And tattoos cover 40 percent of her body, including one that depicts "the rock star sign with the hand" shaped like the devil's horns. Despite that, the 31-year-old Dearborn woman — who calls herself a hillbilly at heart — is a proud Muslim.

Although she has drunk alcohol and once was a single mom, her Islamic faith is still a part of her.

"I've read the Quran three times," says Amen, referring to Islam's holy text. "I know a lot about the religion. I was raised with it, going to all the Islamic Sunday schools growing up. Because I don't follow it to a T, that doesn't make me any less of a Muslim. Because in the end, it's God who's judging us, and I think He and I are cool."

Amen's story will be featured in a new reality-TV show debuting at 10 p.m. Sunday on TLC called All-American Muslim. The eight-part series is the first show on American television that depicts the lives of Muslim Americans, a community that has been in the spotlight for the past decade, but often misunderstood.

Filmed this year, the series looks at five Lebanese-American Shia Muslim families in Dearborn, the city that has the highest concentration of Arab Americans in the U.S. Women are a big part of the show, which reflects the community's diversity: The female characters range from a conservative who frowns on bellydancers at Arab weddings, to a woman with an Islamic head scarf who's outspoken and who dances, to a married businesswoman who wears short skirts and tight tops when hitting the city with friends.
The series comes at a time of intense curiosity among Americans about Islam, with some believing that the religion oppresses women and forces them to wear the Islamic head scarf commonly known as hijab. But as many in Dearborn already know, the TV series shows a world of independent women who decide for themselves whether to wear hijab and how to incorporate Islam into their lives.

That's apparent in the lives of Amen and her two sisters. They grew up in Dearborn in the 1980s during a religious revival among Lebanese Shias that developed after the Iranian revolution in 1979. Women who previously had not worn the hijab or attended mosques became attracted to Islam.

Amen's mother, Lila Amen, started wearing a head scarf, which the young girls noticed and wanted to emulate.

"After the Iranian revolution, people were really being more consciously aware of Islam," oldest sister Suehaila Amen, 32, explained. They began to learn about the faith.
"My mother and all my aunts were putting on the head scarf at the time, and I was trying to be like them, following in their footsteps..… Everyone else was doing it. We wanted to do it, too."

Islamic tradition urges women to cover up in the presence of men not related to them. The practice is called hijab, a term also used to refer specifically to the scarf that covers the head and neck.

Lila Amen thought Suehaila, then 6, was too young to wear the hijab. And when Shadia turned 6 the next year, she also was told no.

"My mother told me not to," recalled Shadia Amen. "But we were so proud to share our faith."

Both girls convinced their mom to let them wear it. However, Shadia Amen took off the head scarf after she graduated from high school. She hasn't worn it since.
At first, "I was uncomfortable with myself when I took the scarf off," she said. "It was very difficult."

Today, she loves dressing up in punk and hillbilly styles, and she's known as the rebel in the family.

In contrast, Suehaila Amen never stopped wearing the hijab and has become a visible spokeswoman for the community on social and political issues. But she, too, belies stereotypes. She enjoys dancing at weddings and is still single, an issue in a community where some Muslim religious leaders urge the youth to get married young.

Amen broke down crying at the wedding of her youngest sister, Samira Amen-Fawaz, in part because she was slightly embarrassed at not getting married before her.

"And if Bilal (her brother) gets married before me, that's grounds for suicide, let me tell you," she says jokingly to her mother on the show as they both chuckle.

Wearing the head scarf and adhering to Islamic guidelines like avoiding alcohol, Amen has no desire to change that part of her life.
"I never had those feelings of wondering what it was like on the other side, or what it would be like if I didn't wear the hijab."

Amen-Fawaz, 28, also stopped wearing the hijab around age 18. But this year, she started donning it again to become closer to God.

Part of her motivation is that she has had difficulties getting pregnant and so is hoping that turning to her faith might help.

"I hope and I pray that by showing God that I'm embracing my religion, that … he'll give me a child," she says on the show

http://www.usatoday....-tlc/51170778/1

[comrade]

0feedmeplz, on 15 November 2011 - 11:11 PM, said:

so u cannot be muslim if u drink alcohol, or dance or celebrate your culture? true we cannot say that they are probably not following islam dictated by quran and sunnah but real talk..they consider themselves submitters to Allah and the prophet muhammad. islam plays a significant part in their lives obviously and HELLOO they are american too. its interesting topic...muslim and american?

I just imagined this part was recited in a loud obnoxious Britney Spears tone.

Whatevvvver....

[baradar_jackson]

Laayla, on 16 November 2011 - 02:36 AM, said:

TLC premieres 'All-American Muslim' reality TV show

Shadia Amen has plenty of piercings, a few on her left eyebrow and 20 on her ears. She says her hair changes color monthly, "anywhere from pink to blue-black to black to whatever tickles my fancy."

And tattoos cover 40 percent of her body, including one that depicts "the rock star sign with the hand" shaped like the devil's horns. Despite that, the 31-year-old Dearborn woman — who calls herself a hillbilly at heart — is a proud Muslim.

Although she has drunk alcohol and once was a single mom, her Islamic faith is still a part of her.

"I've read the Quran three times," says Amen, referring to Islam's holy text. "I know a lot about the religion. I was raised with it, going to all the Islamic Sunday schools growing up. Because I don't follow it to a T, that doesn't make me any less of a Muslim. Because in the end, it's God who's judging us, and I think He and I are cool."

Amen's story will be featured in a new reality-TV show debuting at 10 p.m. Sunday on TLC called All-American Muslim. The eight-part series is the first show on American television that depicts the lives of Muslim Americans, a community that has been in the spotlight for the past decade, but often misunderstood.

Filmed this year, the series looks at five Lebanese-American Shia Muslim families in Dearborn, the city that has the highest concentration of Arab Americans in the U.S. Women are a big part of the show, which reflects the community's diversity: The female characters range from a conservative who frowns on bellydancers at Arab weddings, to a woman with an Islamic head scarf who's outspoken and who dances, to a married businesswoman who wears short skirts and tight tops when hitting the city with friends.
The series comes at a time of intense curiosity among Americans about Islam, with some believing that the religion oppresses women and forces them to wear the Islamic head scarf commonly known as hijab. But as many in Dearborn already know, the TV series shows a world of independent women who decide for themselves whether to wear hijab and how to incorporate Islam into their lives.

That's apparent in the lives of Amen and her two sisters. They grew up in Dearborn in the 1980s during a religious revival among Lebanese Shias that developed after the Iranian revolution in 1979. Women who previously had not worn the hijab or attended mosques became attracted to Islam.

Amen's mother, Lila Amen, started wearing a head scarf, which the young girls noticed and wanted to emulate.

"After the Iranian revolution, people were really being more consciously aware of Islam," oldest sister Suehaila Amen, 32, explained. They began to learn about the faith.
"My mother and all my aunts were putting on the head scarf at the time, and I was trying to be like them, following in their footsteps..… Everyone else was doing it. We wanted to do it, too."

Islamic tradition urges women to cover up in the presence of men not related to them. The practice is called hijab, a term also used to refer specifically to the scarf that covers the head and neck.

Lila Amen thought Suehaila, then 6, was too young to wear the hijab. And when Shadia turned 6 the next year, she also was told no.

"My mother told me not to," recalled Shadia Amen. "But we were so proud to share our faith."

Both girls convinced their mom to let them wear it. However, Shadia Amen took off the head scarf after she graduated from high school. She hasn't worn it since.
At first, "I was uncomfortable with myself when I took the scarf off," she said. "It was very difficult."

Today, she loves dressing up in punk and hillbilly styles, and she's known as the rebel in the family.

In contrast, Suehaila Amen never stopped wearing the hijab and has become a visible spokeswoman for the community on social and political issues. But she, too, belies stereotypes. She enjoys dancing at weddings and is still single, an issue in a community where some Muslim religious leaders urge the youth to get married young.

Amen broke down crying at the wedding of her youngest sister, Samira Amen-Fawaz, in part because she was slightly embarrassed at not getting married before her.

"And if Bilal (her brother) gets married before me, that's grounds for suicide, let me tell you," she says jokingly to her mother on the show as they both chuckle.

Wearing the head scarf and adhering to Islamic guidelines like avoiding alcohol, Amen has no desire to change that part of her life.
"I never had those feelings of wondering what it was like on the other side, or what it would be like if I didn't wear the hijab."

Amen-Fawaz, 28, also stopped wearing the hijab around age 18. But this year, she started donning it again to become closer to God.

Part of her motivation is that she has had difficulties getting pregnant and so is hoping that turning to her faith might help.

"I hope and I pray that by showing God that I'm embracing my religion, that … he'll give me a child," she says on the show

http://www.usatoday....-tlc/51170778/1

Read the first few paragraphs. Too afraid to read the rest.

That is very disappointing, to say the least.

[ImAli]

Laayla, on 16 November 2011 - 02:36 AM, said:

TLC premieres 'All-American Muslim' reality TV show

Shadia Amen has plenty of piercings, a few on her left eyebrow and 20 on her ears. She says her hair changes color monthly, "anywhere from pink to blue-black to black to whatever tickles my fancy."

And tattoos cover 40 percent of her body, including one that depicts "the rock star sign with the hand" shaped like the devil's horns. Despite that, the 31-year-old Dearborn woman — who calls herself a hillbilly at heart — is a proud Muslim.

Although she has drunk alcohol and once was a single mom, her Islamic faith is still a part of her.

"I've read the Quran three times," says Amen, referring to Islam's holy text. "I know a lot about the religion. I was raised with it, going to all the Islamic Sunday schools growing up. Because I don't follow it to a T, that doesn't make me any less of a Muslim. Because in the end, it's God who's judging us, and I think He and I are cool."

Amen's story will be featured in a new reality-TV show debuting at 10 p.m. Sunday on TLC called All-American Muslim. The eight-part series is the first show on American television that depicts the lives of Muslim Americans, a community that has been in the spotlight for the past decade, but often misunderstood.

Filmed this year, the series looks at five Lebanese-American Shia Muslim families in Dearborn, the city that has the highest concentration of Arab Americans in the U.S. Women are a big part of the show, which reflects the community's diversity: The female characters range from a conservative who frowns on bellydancers at Arab weddings, to a woman with an Islamic head scarf who's outspoken and who dances, to a married businesswoman who wears short skirts and tight tops when hitting the city with friends.
The series comes at a time of intense curiosity among Americans about Islam, with some believing that the religion oppresses women and forces them to wear the Islamic head scarf commonly known as hijab. But as many in Dearborn already know, the TV series shows a world of independent women who decide for themselves whether to wear hijab and how to incorporate Islam into their lives.

That's apparent in the lives of Amen and her two sisters. They grew up in Dearborn in the 1980s during a religious revival among Lebanese Shias that developed after the Iranian revolution in 1979. Women who previously had not worn the hijab or attended mosques became attracted to Islam.

Amen's mother, Lila Amen, started wearing a head scarf, which the young girls noticed and wanted to emulate.

"After the Iranian revolution, people were really being more consciously aware of Islam," oldest sister Suehaila Amen, 32, explained. They began to learn about the faith.
"My mother and all my aunts were putting on the head scarf at the time, and I was trying to be like them, following in their footsteps..… Everyone else was doing it. We wanted to do it, too."

Islamic tradition urges women to cover up in the presence of men not related to them. The practice is called hijab, a term also used to refer specifically to the scarf that covers the head and neck.

Lila Amen thought Suehaila, then 6, was too young to wear the hijab. And when Shadia turned 6 the next year, she also was told no.

"My mother told me not to," recalled Shadia Amen. "But we were so proud to share our faith."

Both girls convinced their mom to let them wear it. However, Shadia Amen took off the head scarf after she graduated from high school. She hasn't worn it since.
At first, "I was uncomfortable with myself when I took the scarf off," she said. "It was very difficult."

Today, she loves dressing up in punk and hillbilly styles, and she's known as the rebel in the family.

In contrast, Suehaila Amen never stopped wearing the hijab and has become a visible spokeswoman for the community on social and political issues. But she, too, belies stereotypes. She enjoys dancing at weddings and is still single, an issue in a community where some Muslim religious leaders urge the youth to get married young.

Amen broke down crying at the wedding of her youngest sister, Samira Amen-Fawaz, in part because she was slightly embarrassed at not getting married before her.

"And if Bilal (her brother) gets married before me, that's grounds for suicide, let me tell you," she says jokingly to her mother on the show as they both chuckle.

Wearing the head scarf and adhering to Islamic guidelines like avoiding alcohol, Amen has no desire to change that part of her life.
"I never had those feelings of wondering what it was like on the other side, or what it would be like if I didn't wear the hijab."

Amen-Fawaz, 28, also stopped wearing the hijab around age 18. But this year, she started donning it again to become closer to God.

Part of her motivation is that she has had difficulties getting pregnant and so is hoping that turning to her faith might help.

"I hope and I pray that by showing God that I'm embracing my religion, that … he'll give me a child," she says on the show

http://www.usatoday....-tlc/51170778/1

These girls would have committed suicide had they been placed in my situation ::rolling eyes:: ..... I didn't grow up in Dearborn and spent junior high and high school with a school or all white people and nearly half of them rednecks.....AND I was the only one in hijab for all of those years......and they want to cry about discrimination ROFL

Edited by ImAli, 16 November 2011 - 09:27 AM.

[S.hassan]

Sounds like All American Apostates to me...

[Laayla]

ImAli, on 16 November 2011 - 09:24 AM, said:

These girls would have committed suicide had they been placed in my situation ::rolling eyes:: ..... I didn't grow up in Dearborn and spent junior high and high school with a school or all white people and nearly half of them rednecks.....AND I was the only one in hijab for all of those years......and they want to cry about discrimination ROFL

Bismehe Ta3ala,

Assalam Alikum.

Sub7an'Allah, my sisters and I experienced the same situation you described.

M3 Salamah, FE AMIN Allah

[ImAli]

Laayla, on 16 November 2011 - 10:41 AM, said:

Bismehe Ta3ala,

Assalam Alikum.

Sub7an'Allah, my sisters and I experienced the same situation you described.

M3 Salamah, FE AMIN Allah

These girls here just don't know how easy they have it ....it is a shame they don't take full advantage of it to better themselves.

[AliSaleh]

what time is the show on tv?

[Laayla]

• Review
  
• November 13, 2011

• No One Can Tell I’m a Muslim: All-American Muslim Debuts
  
• A couple tropes, a few surprises, and a missed opportunity
  
• By Su’ad Abdul Khabeer*

As I watch way more reality TV than I probably should admit to, my expectation was that All-American Muslim, which premiered this past Sunday on TLC, would be “All-American Orientalist,” replete with images of women in hijab trying to break free, patriarchal fathers, and exotic immigrant traditions. And it was. But it also wasn’t. Set in Dearborn, Michigan, the show follows five Muslim-American families as they, “struggle to balance faith and nationality in a post-9/11 world.”

All-American Muslim certainly does traffic in the “women in Islam” and “tradition” tropes, among others, but it also offers some surprises. The Shi’a tradition is presented as exemplar of Islam, for example, and the Muslims featured are far from monolithic in their beliefs and practice. Yet even while these five families are diverse in some important ways, All-American features Arab-American Muslims exclusively, missing an opportunity to truly depict the diversity of American Islam.

Generally speaking, when the US discourse on Islam and Muslims is not focused on terrorism, it’s usually preoccupied with Muslim women—their rights or lack thereof, depending on your vantage point. The obsession with Muslim women, and fetishization of what is commonly referred to as the “hijab,” has a long history. In this history the Muslim woman vacillates, as Mohja Kahf writes, between oppression and hypersexuality. And she can also be the subject of pity for white feminists: The Muslim woman-as-“plucky individualist,” to use the words of Dohra Ahmad, only hampered by the inconveniences of a flowing black veil.

In the very first episode of All-American, the hijab becomes a centerpiece, invoked by two female cast members who opine that they don’t “look” Muslim. And it makes an appearance in another cast member’s struggle with infertility. It’s highly likely that her attempt to gain God’s favor includes more than wearing a headscarf, yet the show focuses solely on what she wears on her head. And it’s important to note that all this “women in Islam” talk occurs alongside the conspicuous absence of any discussion of masculinity, even though the show includes both a football coach and a sheriff!

The tradition trope comes up immediately in the marriage of Shadia Amen, a Lebanese Muslim, and Jeff McDermott, who is Irish Catholic. In order for their union to have the blessing of Shadia’s family, Jeff must convert to Islam; traditionally, Muslim women are prohibited from marrying non-Muslim men.

Yet we find that our All-American Muslims are not the only ones concerned with tradition. As is typical in depictions of Irish-Americans in TV-land, tradition plays a central role in Jeff’s family. In one emotional scene, Jeff’s mother describes being overwhelmed by his conversion as it represents a significant break in their family tradition. Conceding that times “evolve,” however, she accepts his decision. She just wants her son to be happy. The stark contrast between Jeff’s mother and Shadia’s father leaves the audience with the worn image of a patriarchal Arab father stuck in tradition, unwilling to “evolve.”

One of the most interesting things about the show is found on the TLC website where cast members, who refer to themselves as “traditional,” speak of their struggle to balance “Muslim tradition with American values,” exemplifying the kinds of fictions Muslims believe and reproduce themselves—fictions that match any held by non-Muslims. When Nina says, for example, “no one can tell I am a Muslim,” it reinforces the fiction that Muslims do necessarily look a certain way, once again emphasizing outward appearance rather than, say, the Muslim character.

On the other hand, where the show invigorates certain tropes that tend to obscure the humanity of American Muslims, it also manages to challenge certain assumptions. For example, what the average non-Muslim may not get is that most if not all cast members are Shi’a. To the average Muslim, however, the arm positions of individuals and groups in prayer and the use of the turbah will be a dead giveaway. Yet, except for the clearly labeled “Shiite Imam” who marries Shadia and Jeff, the cast’s Shi’a identity is not openly addressed. Clearly, the American Muslims behind the show are seeking to legitimate Shi’a practice as Islam and as American Islam, an interesting move likely to have greater ramifications for the show’s Muslim viewers.

Indeed, some Muslim viewers may complain about the imbalance, but I’m pleasantly surprised by the challenge it poses to the presumption of Sunni hegemony. And then there’s the fact that the cast isn’t stocked with flawless Muslims, which poses a further challenge. All have strong Muslim identities, but they’re full of contradictions and compromises—as, incidentally, are most Muslims. To my thinking the depiction of diversity in the practice of Islam is useful for non-Muslim audiences who may come to the show believing that all Muslims are religious in the same way, adhere to tradition in the same way, and are therefore quite unlike the rest of “us”; Americans, that is.

Depite these strengths, the show really missed an opportunity by not showcasing a fuller range of the ethnic (and class) diversity of the American Muslim community. Why does this matter? Because one of the clear aims of this reality TV show is to challenge anti-Muslim bigotry, which frames Muslims as foreign and deeply un-American in their values, beliefs, and practices. All-American Muslim aims to prove we (Muslims) are just like you (Americans). A more diverse representation would have challenged anti-Muslim bigotry in a more dynamic way than a sort of “we eat apple pie, too” claim to American kinship.

Profiling an African-American Muslim family would have opened up the possibility of educating viewers about enslaved African Muslims to really give serious context about how American Islam is. Likewise, the possibility of learning about more recent movements like the Nation of Islam whose origins go back to the 1930s or the Dar ul-Islam movement in the 1960s, would further remind people that that American Islam is not just a post-1965 or post-9/11 phenomenon. This is of course still one step removed from an even higher order challenge to anti-Muslim bigotry, not simply by showing lifestyle similarities or historical contributions, but by challenging the very notion there is only one way to be an American, the idea that undergirds anti-Muslim bias.

This may be beyond the capacity of the genre, though a more diverse cast would be a good start. I’ve heard the argument that All-American shouldn’t be criticized for a lack of ethnic diversity because it wasn’t intended to be fully representative. I‘m not terribly moved by this defense. Dearborn was a particular selection with a certain set of consequences. In fact, if the idea is to challenge anti-Muslim bigotry, choosing a cast of immigrants and first-generation Americans, all Arab American save the newbie white convert, may just propel the show into another set of tropes: all Muslims are Arabs, all Arabs are Muslim, and all Muslims are immigrants. Indeed some Muslims are Arab, some Arabs are Muslim, and some Muslims are immigrants. But many are not.

Many will celebrate the show, and those who do may read this review (if they get this far) as a killjoy—after all there is only so much a TV show can do. After all, even with all its imperfections All-American Muslim will open a conversation. My question and concern is what kind of conversation and where will it take us, if anywhere. Guess I’ll have to tune in to watch, wait and see.

*Su’ad Abdul Khabeer is an assistant professor of Anthropology and African American Studies at Purdue University. Su’ad is also a Senior Project Advisor for the US Public Television award-winning documentary, New Muslim Cool.

http://www.religiond..._muslim_debuts/

Edited by Laayla, 16 November 2011 - 12:01 PM.

[yazehra786]

I may be going against the popular opinion on this thread, but I find it difficult and somewhat unfair to really judge these people based on a 1 episode snapshot of their lives. I've always been of the opinion that before you judge someone for their shortcomings, reflect on yourself. Not only that, but how about giving these people some credit for what they ARE practicing? Even if that may be as simple as saying they have the love for the religion in their hearts? I think its unfortunate that we are so quick to distance ourselves from people who don't fit our criteria or level of what a Muslim should be, it only makes the divide between who is "religious" and who is "liberal" greater. I think as a community we will get a lot further through compassion, positivity, and encouragement than we will through pessimism. Just my 2 cents

[Laayla]

My Take: 'All-American Muslim' doesn't speak for this Muslim


Editor’s note: Aman Ali is a New York-based writer, stand-up comedian and the co-creator of 30 Mosques in 30 Days, a Ramadan road trip across America.
By Aman Ali, Special to CNN

Anytime I hear about a TV show coming out that features Muslims, my initial reaction is almost always “Oh man, please don’t suck. Please don’t suck.”
Unfortunately with TLC’s new reality show, it does.

“All-American Muslim” is the network’s new series about a group of Muslim families living in the Arab-rich city of Dearborn, Michigan.
Brilliant! What better way to show the mainstream public an insight into how multicultural and intellectually diverse Islam’s followers are… with a show focusing on just Arabs (20 percent of the world’s Muslim population) who follow the Shia sect of Islam (about 10 percent of the world’s Muslim population).

The show, which premiered over the weekend, presents itself as a glimpse into the American Muslim community but ignores an overwhelming majority of the cultures that comprise it. South Asians like my parents, who came from India, make up one of the largest group of Muslim immigrants in the United States.

That doesn’t bother me as much as the fact that the show makes no reference to African-American Muslims, another huge American Muslim group. Many of the black slaves that built the foundation of this country with blood, sweat and tears were Muslim.

And Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Dave Chappelle and Lupe Fiasco are all American Muslims, too. Hell, Detroit is right next to Dearborn. All the producers had to do was turn around and they’d find one of the most active African-American Muslim communities in the country.

The first episode said Dearborn has the largest population of Arabs in the United States – a statistic I’ve heard echoed time and time again. But I just checked the latest statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau and learned that the Arab population in New York City is more than twice that of Dearborn. Seems like TLC can’t even stereotype correctly.

A bigger issue I have is with the show’s characters.

One woman is a boozing, tattoo-laden rebel child who wants to marry an Irish Catholic. Another is a scantily-clad and confrontational business shark who dreams about opening her own nightclub.

While I appreciate that the show is implying that Muslim women are more than just devout, headscarf-wearing housewives locked in the kitchen all day, why do the “liberal” characters represent an opposite extreme? Most Muslim women in this country don’t fit neatly into the ultra-conservative or ultra-liberal categories. They’re in the gray area.
The men on the show, meanwhile, are just plain boring. There’s a Muslim cop who insecurely reiterates his patriotism every 10 seconds. I’m surprised he doesn’t sleep in American flag pajamas and that his cell phone ringtone isn’t a Toby Keith song.

My favorite part of the show’s first episode is the spotlight it throws on the predominantly Muslim football team at Dearborn Fordson High School. “All-American Muslim” spends significant time on the team but leaves out that they’re 6-5 this season and scoreless in the first game losing by more than 40 points.

While its great that faith means so much to these players, it would be nice if scoring touchdowns meant just as much to them, too.

I recently co-created a project with called 30 Mosques in 30 Days, in which my friend Bassam Tariq and I drove over 25,000 miles to each of the 50 states to tell unfiltered stories about Muslim Americans. “All-American Muslim” doesn’t speak for them, nor does it speak for me.

These stories bear little resemblance to the narratives of my own or the ones I’ve stumbled across in my community.

You want to do an authentic story about an American Muslim? Do a story about a scrawny 20-something guy who awkwardly spends months mustering up the courage to tell a girl he likes her. Or girls that blabber about another girl they see talking to a guy for more than 11 seconds.

Best yet, passive aggressive parents that try to segue anything that comes out of your mouth into a lecture about why you should have been a doctor or why you’re going to die alone if you don’t get married by age 23.

That’s Muslim America. They’re stories of people no different than any one else in this country.

TLC has disappointed me. But maybe that’s not saying much, considering the network airs two shows exploiting the lives of little people and one called “I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant.”

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Aman Ali  

[ÓßíäÉý]

It's the Muslim jersey shore . Sigh.

[Saviour]

I see agree with your points, the thing is that it's not bad that these shows are increasing public awareness of Islam but it's that they are representing it horriibly. Although one could argue that it is a show about Muslim's in America, so therefore it is only representing a minority but once again a reply to that could be that , that it is a false representation and that not all American's living in the West are like that.

Hmm, but well just have too see , Inshallah

[yazehra786]

سكينة‎, on 14 December 2011 - 12:05 PM, said:

It's the Muslim jersey shore . Sigh.

Wow, really? All American Muslim probably the most boring reality show ever made -- mostly because it actually shows reality

[Heydare Karrar]

Unbelievable!! They show it as if everyone is like that. I think the more viewers that show has the more they continue it. If not enough people watch it, it could be canceled. I suggest those of you who dont agree with it and still watch it ,, to stop watching it.

Seriously, others will get the image that everyone is like that. Thats what the media does unfortunately.

[yazehra786]

Heydare Karrar, on 14 December 2011 - 06:19 PM, said:

Seriously, others will get the image that everyone is like that. Thats what the media does unfortunately.

I'm going to have to disagree with you on this. Unfortunately with the kind of Islamaphobia in the US today, one reality show isn't going to undo the damage of post 9/11 stereotyping of Muslims. There's an ongoing controversy over this show and the Lowe's advertisements that were pulled from it following the demands of a Florida group that said the show misrepresented Muslims because it DIDN'T show jihadists and presented Muslims as normal Americans and not as fundamentalists (a quick google of the show and Lowes will get you all the info on this if you are unfamiliar). I think we should be much more concerned about why people in this country are still putting Muslims in the terrorist category than worry about how a couple people on tv are going to make others think that all Muslims want to get tattoos and open clubs, which btw I highly doubt most people are thinking when they watch.

One other thing I'd like to point out, and if you've watched the show I'm sure you've seen this, for the people that are considered black sheep (ie. lady with the tats, girl that wants the club) its made pretty clear that they are outsiders aka not the norm in the sense that they don't follow what the religion teaches. The fact is there are people in the US and around the world that are "Muslim" but maybe not practicing, and that's what the show is essentially showing when you see those families. Sure, maybe not to that extreme but I think people are being overly sensitive and giving this show way too much credit for revolutionizing how Muslims are seen. It's a reality show, on TLC, about pretty average American families. Not exactly trendsetting or groundbreaking in my opinion.

[repenter]

yazehra786, on 14 December 2011 - 07:36 PM, said:

I'm going to have to disagree with you on this. Unfortunately with the kind of Islamaphobia in the US today, one reality show isn't going to undo the damage of post 9/11 stereotyping of Muslims. There's an ongoing controversy over this show and the Lowe's advertisements that were pulled from it following the demands of a Florida group that said the show misrepresented Muslims because it DIDN'T show jihadists and presented Muslims as normal Americans and not as fundamentalists (a quick google of the show and Lowes will get you all the info on this if you are unfamiliar). I think we should be much more concerned about why people in this country are still putting Muslims in the terrorist category than worry about how a couple people on tv are going to make others think that all Muslims want to get tattoos and open clubs, which btw I highly doubt most people are thinking when they watch.

One other thing I'd like to point out, and if you've watched the show I'm sure you've seen this, for the people that are considered black sheep (ie. lady with the tats, girl that wants the club) its made pretty clear that they are outsiders aka not the norm in the sense that they don't follow what the religion teaches. The fact is there are people in the US and around the world that are "Muslim" but maybe not practicing, and that's what the show is essentially showing when you see those families. Sure, maybe not to that extreme but I think people are being overly sensitive and giving this show way too much credit for revolutionizing how Muslims are seen. It's a reality show, on TLC, about pretty average American families. Not exactly trendsetting or groundbreaking in my opinion.

Unfortunately with the kind of Islamaphobia in the US today, one reality show isn't going to undo the damage of post 9/11 stereotyping of Muslims

I agree with this. And if that is the goal, it is not the correct way of doing it.

I think we should be much more concerned about why people in this country are still putting Muslims in the terrorist category than worry about how a couple people on tv are going to make others think that all Muslims want to get tattoos and open clubs, which btw I highly doubt most people are thinking when they watch.

What we need to be concerned about is Muslims not following the laws of their religion, which in this show is portrayed pretty efficiently.
Question should be who should muslims concern themselves to please, God or people?
You doubting what people are thinking is irrelevant as it has been clear throughout the past 10 years that people are quite naive and will believe anything they see.


The fact is there are people in the US and around the world that are "Muslim" but maybe not practicing, and that's what the show is essentially showing when you see those families. Sure, maybe not to that extreme but I think people are being overly sensitive and giving this show way too much credit for revolutionizing how Muslims are seen. It's a reality show, on TLC, about pretty average American families. Not exactly trendsetting or groundbreaking in my opinion.

That isn't the point though. The point is the fine line between right and wrong, and on the flip side, what the actual goal of the show is. The show itself might have good intentions, but it doesn't make it right. It's kind of like the new age way of thought where they are trying to draw youth towards islam with music and inappropriate shows.

[yazehra786]

repenter, on 14 December 2011 - 07:56 PM, said:

I agree with this. And if that is the goal, it is not the correct way of doing it.

What we need to be concerned about is Muslims not following the laws of their religion, which in this show is portrayed pretty efficiently.
Question should be who should muslims concern themselves to please, God or people?
You doubting what people are thinking is irrelevant as it has been clear throughout the past 10 years that people are quite naive and will believe anything they see.


That isn't the point though. The point is the fine line between right and wrong, and on the flip side, what the actual goal of the show is. The show itself might have good intentions, but it doesn't make it right. It's kind of like the new age way of thought where they are trying to draw youth towards islam with music and inappropriate shows.

Oh, I love a good debate, especially with words in bold. Very fancy, repenter lol.

Now your first point - let me ask you this: whose goal is to dis-spell negative stereotypes against Muslims? Definitely not TLC's. I'm sure you can agree that responsibility rests on Muslims themselves. While maybe not the ideal showcase to get away from the terrorist stereotype, I still think the show is a step in the right direction. At least its getting people talking about something OTHER than how we oppress women and blow things up. Discussion/dialogue is the key, and I mean that in a general sense. We aren't going to clear up misconceptions if no one is interested in listening or asking questions!

What does pleasing people have to do with anything? These people are living their (pretty boring) lives and being filmed, big deal. Have they actually said anything like that on the show? Maybe I missed it. My doubting what people think was regards to them thinking that all Muslims are like the black sheep on this show, not the stereotypes we've lived under for the past 10 years. I think you misread that a bit. Again back to my first point, let's be realistic here - who is going to think this woman dressed in a mini skirt represents the average Muslim? When you find that person, let me know I'd like to meet them.

Look, this isn't the ideal stage to showcase what Muslims are about. I just don't see it doing enough damage to be THAT concerned. At least not at this point. That's just me -- whether you find it "irrelevant" or not

[repenter]

yazehra786, on 14 December 2011 - 08:25 PM, said:

Oh, I love a good debate, especially with words in bold. Very fancy, repenter lol.

Now your first point - let me ask you this: whose goal is to dis-spell negative stereotypes against Muslims? Definitely not TLC's. I'm sure you can agree that responsibility rests on Muslims themselves. While maybe not the ideal showcase to get away from the terrorist stereotype, I still think the show is a step in the right direction. At least its getting people talking about something OTHER than how we oppress women and blow things up. Discussion/dialogue is the key, and I mean that in a general sense. We aren't going to clear up misconceptions if no one is interested in listening or asking questions!

What does pleasing people have to do with anything? These people are living their (pretty boring) lives and being filmed, big deal. Have they actually said anything like that on the show? Maybe I missed it. My doubting what people think was regards to them thinking that all Muslims are like the black sheep on this show, not the stereotypes we've lived under for the past 10 years. I think you misread that a bit. Again back to my first point, let's be realistic here - who is going to think this woman dressed in a mini skirt represents the average Muslim? When you find that person, let me know I'd like to meet them.

Look, this isn't the ideal stage to showcase what Muslims are about. I just don't see it doing enough damage to be THAT concerned. At least not at this point. That's just me -- whether you find it "irrelevant" or not

Now your first point - let me ask you this: whose goal is to dis-spell negative stereotypes against Muslims? Definitely not TLC's. I'm sure you can agree that responsibility rests on Muslims themselves. While maybe not the ideal showcase to get away from the terrorist stereotype, I still think the show is a step in the right direction. At least its getting people talking about something OTHER than how we oppress women and blow things up. Discussion/dialogue is the key, and I mean that in a general sense. We aren't going to clear up misconceptions if no one is interested in listening or asking questions!

See this is where i can't agree with you. the responsibility of muslims is not to dis-spell negative stereotypes, the responsibility of muslims is to follow their codes of conduct and their holy laws regardless of how they are branded.
As I said, the show might get people to talk more positively about muslims and what not, but the question still remains, which is more important, God or people?

What does pleasing people have to do with anything? These people are living their (pretty boring) lives and being filmed, big deal. Have they actually said anything like that on the show? Maybe I missed it. My doubting what people think was regards to them thinking that all Muslims are like the black sheep on this show, not the stereotypes we've lived under for the past 10 years. I think you misread that a bit. Again back to my first point, let's be realistic here - who is going to think this woman dressed in a mini skirt represents the average Muslim? When you find that person, let me know I'd like to meet them.

I compared pleasing God vs pleasing people because i sense you support the show more or less because it removes stereotypes and makes people think otherwise about muslims etc etc. I generally find that as a approach.
If you live in America, which it sounds like you do, you must live in a very strange place because my wife is American, and i have traveled to America, and I have never seen a more naive and controlled bunch of human beings in my life.
I'm very sure you can find some yourself sister. I mean you do live in the land that believed Saddam had WMD based on a couple of pictures and a bottle filled with mustard and ketchup by Collin Powell.  

Look, this isn't the ideal stage to showcase what Muslims are about. I just don't see it doing enough damage to be THAT concerned. At least not at this point. That's just me -- whether you find it "irrelevant" or not
The thing is, shows on TV have a very strict set of rules. You need a certain amount of rating to still be able to air. So ask yourself, how many people are actually watching this?

[Murtada]

The show is online here:
http://www.sidereel....american_muslim

[yazehra786]

Yeah, I think we are just going to have to agree to disagree on this brother. I look at the show from a general image perspective more than a dissection of the who what where and why of its characters. To answer your question, I do live in the US and your generalizations aside, I don't think people living in more urban areas or big cities are as backwards about their feelings towards Muslims. If you've seen the Jon Stewart segment on the Lowe's controversy, that's probably closer to what the average EDUCATED non Muslim thinks, then again I don't go around conducting studies on American sentiments towards Muslims so that's just my assumption.

Overall, I'm intrigued by (some) of the characters on the show - the football coach and the young couple with the new baby, I could do without the rest of the people, I find them pretty boring. So I'll keep watching, and once something really offensive happens then maybe I'll stop and write a letter to the station about it, but for now I still think its doing more good, or maybe neutralization is the right word, than harm.

[baradar_jackson]

Laayla, on 17 November 2011 - 02:56 PM, said:

My Take: 'All-American Muslim' doesn't speak for this Muslim


Editor’s note: Aman Ali is a New York-based writer, stand-up comedian and the co-creator of 30 Mosques in 30 Days, a Ramadan road trip across America.
By Aman Ali, Special to CNN

Anytime I hear about a TV show coming out that features Muslims, my initial reaction is almost always “Oh man, please don’t suck. Please don’t suck.”
Unfortunately with TLC’s new reality show, it does.

“All-American Muslim” is the network’s new series about a group of Muslim families living in the Arab-rich city of Dearborn, Michigan.
Brilliant! What better way to show the mainstream public an insight into how multicultural and intellectually diverse Islam’s followers are… with a show focusing on just Arabs (20 percent of the world’s Muslim population) who follow the Shia sect of Islam (about 10 percent of the world’s Muslim population). Arabs and Shias are more politically relevant, that's why. South Asian Muslims, or Eastern European Muslims, etc... Their regions don't have as much strategic importance. So of course there is emphasis on Arabs, and because of the growing power of WF and its growing attraction amongst Shias, this makes Shias dangerous. So there needs to be a counterweight to that.

The show, which premiered over the weekend, presents itself as a glimpse into the American Muslim community but ignores an overwhelming majority of the cultures that comprise it. South Asians like my parents, who came from India, make up one of the largest group of Muslim immigrants in the United States.

That doesn’t bother me as much as the fact that the show makes no reference to African-American Muslims, another huge American Muslim group. Many of the black slaves that built the foundation of this country with blood, sweat and tears were Muslim.

And Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Dave Chappelle and Lupe Fiasco are all American Muslims, too. Hell, Detroit is right next to Dearborn. All the producers had to do was turn around and they’d find one of the most active African-American Muslim communities in the country. Again this dude is missing the point. Dearborn has potentials that Detroit does not. Dearborn could be that small spot in the US under the shadow of wilayah. Is this not a threat that needs to be neutralized???

The first episode said Dearborn has the largest population of Arabs in the United States – a statistic I’ve heard echoed time and time again. But I just checked the latest statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau and learned that the Arab population in New York City is more than twice that of Dearborn. Seems like TLC can’t even stereotype correctly. And this guy is retarded. New York is a city of like a billion people. So if there is a million Muslims, that makes it the largest Muslim community in the US? So what if New York's Muslim population is twice as much as that of Dearborn's? Its total population is, let's see, at least 100 times as much. Right? Dearborn has around 90 thousand people if I remember correctly. New York has I think, 13 million? So that's more than 100 times. New York is a huge city, so it inevitably has a lot of Muslims. Moscow has 300 thousand Shias; is Moscow a Russian Dearborn? No. You can't walk through London without seeing a muhajabah at every turn. Is London an English Dearborn? No. What makes Dearborn special is that it is a city in the West with a majority Muslim population. This is what the author either doesn't see, or is purposely not mentioning to make a point.

A bigger issue I have is with the show’s characters.

One woman is a boozing, tattoo-laden rebel child who wants to marry an Irish Catholic. Another is a scantily-clad and confrontational business shark who dreams about opening her own nightclub.

While I appreciate that the show is implying that Muslim women are more than just devout, headscarf-wearing housewives locked in the kitchen all day, why do the “liberal” characters represent an opposite extreme? Most Muslim women in this country don’t fit neatly into the ultra-conservative or ultra-liberal categories. They’re in the gray area.
The men on the show, meanwhile, are just plain boring. There’s a Muslim cop who insecurely reiterates his patriotism every 10 seconds. I’m surprised he doesn’t sleep in American flag pajamas and that his cell phone ringtone isn’t a Toby Keith song.

My favorite part of the show’s first episode is the spotlight it throws on the predominantly Muslim football team at Dearborn Fordson High School. “All-American Muslim” spends significant time on the team but leaves out that they’re 6-5 this season and scoreless in the first game losing by more than 40 points.

While its great that faith means so much to these players, it would be nice if scoring touchdowns meant just as much to them, too. Uhhhhhhhhhhhh, calm the hell down, dude. Not everything in life revolves around sports.

I recently co-created a project with called 30 Mosques in 30 Days, in which my friend Bassam Tariq and I drove over 25,000 miles to each of the 50 states to tell unfiltered stories about Muslim Americans. “All-American Muslim” doesn’t speak for them, nor does it speak for me. Well the problem is, if they made a show that spoke for most Muslims in the US, it wouldn't be very entertaining for Americans. That one mustache guy, Morgan Sperlock (sp?), he made a show about an American Christian who went and lived with some religious Dearbornis for 30 days. Who watched that? Nobody.

These stories bear little resemblance to the narratives of my own or the ones I’ve stumbled across in my community.

You want to do an authentic story about an American Muslim? Do a story about a scrawny 20-something guy who awkwardly spends months mustering up the courage to tell a girl he likes her. Or girls that blabber about another girl they see talking to a guy for more than 11 seconds.

Best yet, passive aggressive parents that try to segue anything that comes out of your mouth into a lecture about why you should have been a doctor or why you’re going to die alone if you don’t get married by age 23.

That’s Muslim America. They’re stories of people no different than any one else in this country.

TLC has disappointed me. But maybe that’s not saying much, considering the network airs two shows exploiting the lives of little people and one called “I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant.”

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Aman Ali  

Edited by baradar_jackson, 15 December 2011 - 04:51 AM.

[Heydare Karrar]

repenter, on 15 December 2011 - 02:33 AM, said:

The thing is, shows on TV have a very strict set of rules. You need a certain amount of rating to still be able to air. So ask yourself, how many people are actually watching this?

Exactly my point. People watching it are actually supporting them in many ways without knowing.