Reality series on Dearborn Muslims ends

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MARCH 8, 2012 AT 1:00 AM

Reality series on Dearborn Muslims ends

  • BY URSULA WATSON 
  • THE DETROIT NEWS 

    TLC’s reality TV show “All-American Muslim” provided viewers with an intimate look at the lives of five hard-working Dearborn families. But the network announced Wednesday that the show will not be back for a second season.

    Poor ratings are the main reason for its cancellation, TLC said. Its Nov. 13 premiere drew 1.74 million viewers but ratings soon declined with the Dec. 11 episode nabbing only 908,000 viewers.

    Muslim civil rights activist Dawud Walid, executive director of CAIR Michigan, said although “All-American Muslim” only aired for one season, it started a “dialogue and discussion” in certain segments of society about Muslims. “It’s unfortunate there was a coordinated campaign which led to backlash about the show,” Walid said. “I don’t know how much that campaign played a role in ratings or lack of ratings for the show.”

    Walid added that the “bigoted backlash” directed at the show highlights the need for such programming.

    Hardware chain Lowe’s, under pressure from conservative Christian group Florida Family Association, pulled its advertising in December. And there were less-than-glowing reviews, including one from an executive from the travel site Kayak.com, which also stopped advertising on the show, claiming TLC wasn’t upfront about the program‘s nature and said “the show sucked.”

    Despite low ratings and the national controversy that swirled around the series, “All-American Muslim” was a groundbreaking offering.

    “It saddens me that it isn’t being renewed,” says series participant Suehaila Amen. “But it did exactly what it intended to do. It highlighted the average lives of average people.”

    She said “All-American Muslim” changed the perceptions of some who harbored negative perceptions of Islam. “On my Facebook fan page, people would tell me how they once hated Muslims but the show helped to open their eyes. This was something that needed to be done.”

    Nina Bazzy-Aliahmad, who also appeared on the TLC program, agreed.

    “I feel blessed that I appeared on such a project,” she said. “I have no regrets. I met a lot of wonderful people from different religions and backgrounds that praised the show.”

    Activist Imad Hamad, regional director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, said “All-American Muslim” brought a great deal of value to the small screen.

    “It was an interesting show that opened the eyes of many fellow Americans,” he said. “The show was not political at all. It was like any other reality show. But people made vicious attacks against the show simply because it mentioned Islam. There are people who are ultra-sensitive about anything connected to Islam.”

    Still, Hamad said TLC’s decision to cancel “All-American Muslim” seems like a business decision and not a victory for those who attacked the show. “TLC has the right to continue a show or not continue a show,” he said.

    While the eight-episode season run concluded in early January, the show is still on the air abroad, Amen said.

    “They are airing the show in the Middle East, in Lebanon now,” Amen said. “I had friends calling me. It is dubbed in Arabic. It has crossed geographical boundaries. Muslims are viewing it from all over the world.”

DawudWalid

Dawud Walid is currently the Executive Director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI), which is a chapter of America's largest advocacy and civil liberties organization for American Muslims and is a member of the Michigan Muslim Community Council (MMCC) Imams Committee. Walid has been interviewed and quoted in approximately 150 media outlets ranging from the New York Times, Wall St Journal, National Public Radio, CNN, BBC, FOX News and Al-Jazeera. Furthermore, Walid was a political blogger for the Detroit News from January 2014 to January 2016, has had essays published in the 2012 book All-American: 45 American Men on Being Muslim, the 2014 book Qur'an in Conversation and was quoted as an expert in 13 additional books and academic dissertations. He was also a featured character in the 2013 HBO documentary "The Education of Mohammad Hussein." Walid has lectured at over 50 institutions of higher learning about Islam, interfaith dialogue and social justice including at Harvard University, DePaul University and the University of the Virgin Islands - St. Thomas and St. Croix campuses as well as spoken at the 2008 and 2011 Congressional Black Caucus Conventions alongside prominent speakers such as the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Congressman Keith Ellison. In 2008, Walid delivered the closing benediction at the historic 52nd Michigan Electoral College in the Michigan State Senate chambers and gave the Baccalaureate speech for graduates of the prestigious Cranbrook-Kingswood Academy located in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Walid was also a featured speaker at the 2009 and 2010 Malian Peace and Tolerance Conferences at the University of Bamako in Mali, West Africa. He has also given testimony at hearings and briefings in front of Michigan state legislators and U.S. congressional representatives, including speaking before members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in Washington, D.C. Walid has studied under qualified scholars the disciplines of Arabic grammar and morphology, foundations of Islamic jurisprudence, sciences of the exegesis of the Qur’an, and Islamic history during the era of Prophet Muhammad through the governments of the first 5 caliphs. He previously served as an imam at Masjid Wali Muhammad in Detroit and the Bosnian American Islamic Center in Hamtramck, Michigan, and continues to deliver sermons and lectures at Islamic centers across the United States and Canada. Walid was a 2011 - 2012 fellow of the University of Southern California (USC) American Muslim Civil Leadership Institute (AMCLI) and a 2014 - 2015 fellow of the Wayne State Law School Detroit Action Equity Lab (DEAL). Walid served in the United States Navy under honorable conditions earning two United States Navy & Marine Corp Achievement medals while deployed abroad. He has also received awards of recognition from the city councils of Detroit and Hamtramck and from the Mayor of Lansing as well as a number of other religious and community organizations.

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