Dearborn, November 11: A reality show about Muslim families in America carried by TLC cable channel will premier next Sunday, aiming at breaking religious stereotypes and misconceptions about the diverse religious minority in the US.
“Ultimately, our shows are about telling the stories of the families featured in them,” a program producer, who declined to be named, told World Net Daily (WND) on Thursday, November 10.
“So, to some extent, the history of American Muslims settling in Dearborn may be touched upon, but ultimately, this is about the families’ stories and what’s going on in their lives today, not the past, per se,” the producer added.
The reality show, “All-American Muslim,” is an eight-part series that begins on Sunday.
The idea of the show was first suggested by Mike Mosallam, director of film initiatives for Wayne County.
Filmed in metro Detroit, the show will follow the lives of a group of Muslims and their friends in the area.
Those filmed in the show include Suehaila Amen, a Dearborn resident active in community groups who wears an Islamic headscarf, and her sister, Shadia Amen, who is not as observant.
It will also show Mike Jaafar, a deputy sheriff in Wayne County; Nawal Aoude, a nurse, and her husband, Nader Aoude; and Fouad Zaban, coach of the Fordson High School football team.
Focusing on Muslims in Dearborn, the producer said that the program is a glimpse into a lifestyle with which most Americans are unfamiliar.
“We’re excited about that because we think this group of families really will give our audience a taste of what life is like in Dearborn, Mich., for a variety of American Muslims – some quite traditional, and some not,” he said.
“As I say, viewers will get an insight into Islam and Muslim traditions as practiced by the families featured in the show who have varying practices when it comes to their faith.
“The show focuses on how each of these families balances their beliefs and traditions in their day-to-day lives.”
The producers added that the program makers purposefully avoided getting too deeply into some of the deeper issues surrounding Islam.
“This show is not about politics,” the producer told WND.
“Viewers will gain insight into Islam, definitely, but more from the perspective of cultural traditions, how modern American Muslims in Dearborn live, family matters and so on.
Criticism
The unprecedented show was praised by US Muslims for its role in breaking religious stereotypes.
“By the show coming to fruition, it’s a testament of changing attitudes in America,” Denia Hasic, a 20-year-old Boston University student, told the Boston Herald.
“If a show is not marketable, it’s not going to (be made). So I think it’s fantastic. But at the same time, I don’t think it’s going to get very deep.”
Abdullah Faaruuq, 64, an imam at the Mosque for the Praising of Allah in Roxbury, agreed.
“I think it did an excellent job of breaking down the stereotypical opinion … on who Muslims can be,” Faaruuq said.
Yet, the Muslim imam added that the show does not reflect Islam.
“But I don’t think it was reflective of Islamic life in America. It certainly doesn’t reflect Islam.”
The show was seen by other Muslims as providing a “message of assurance” to non-Muslim Americans.
“It’s more of a reflection of the Islamic culture than the Islamic faith,” said Muhamed Almaliky, a 42-year-old physician from Cambridge.
Though praising the reality show as shedding lights on Islam in the US, US Muslims said the show only focused on Arab-American Muslims, ignoring a much diverse community of black, Asian and Latino Muslims.
“It doesn’t capture how diverse the Muslim world actually is,” said Jihath Ghazavi, 22, of Boston, a Muslim of South Asian descent.
“ ‘All-American Muslim’ is a great title if they showed (for example) black Muslims, South Asian Muslims.”
Although there are no official figures, the United States is believed to be home to between 6-8 million Muslims.
According to a report by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the University of California, Berkeley’s Center for Race and Gender said that Islamophobia in the US is on the rise.
A US survey has also revealed that the majority of Americans know very little about Muslims and their faith.
A recent Gallup poll, however, found 43 percent of Americans Nationwide admitted to feeling at least “a little” prejudice against Muslims.
Courtesy: Onislam.net