Lowe’s Facing Boycott After Yanking Ads From TLC’s ‘All-American Muslim’

Retail giant Lowe’s is facing growing backlash after yanking its advertising dollars from a new TLC reality show featuring an all-Muslim cast.

At the center of the controversy is All-American Muslim, a show that follows five Muslim families in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, Michigan. The show, whch airs Sundays on TLC at 10 p.m. ET, has attracted the ire of conservative groups.

Now its created a firestorm for Lowe’s.

The company requested that its commercials stop being aired during the program after the Florida Family Association, a Tampa-based conservative group, emailed companies to ask them to do so. The group said the program is “propaganda that riskily hides the Islamic agenda’s clear and present danger to American liberties and traditional values.”

So far, Lowe’s is the only major company to confirm that it pulled ads from the show.

The Florida Family Association has spent the past 20 year fighting against gay rights, strip clubs “and most anything else that offends evangelical Christians,” The Associated Press said Tuesday.

The group has also protested “Gay Days” at Walt Disney World.

Community activist Suehaila Amen, a member of one of the families featured on the show has called its critics “bigots.”

“I am saddened that any place of business would succumb to bigots and people trying to perpetuate their negative views on an entire community. This can happen to any member of a minority group. This country was not founded on hatred or racism. It was founded on inclusion and diversity.”

Several groups are targeting Lowe’s for a boycott, demanding the company apologize to Muslims and reinstate its ads. Lowe’s, however, says its planning to stick by its decision to sever ties with the TLC hit — despite the growing opposition the home improvement chain is facing over the move.

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“It appears that we managed to step into a hotly contested debate with strong views from virtually every angle and perspective — social, political and otherwise — and we’ve managed to make some people very unhappy. We are sincerely sorry. We have a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion, across our workforce and our customers, and we’re proud of that longstanding commitment.”