(Image source: TLC)

BY LAUREN ZIMA

Home improvement chain Lowe’s is under fire after it pulled its advertising from TLC’s new docu-series, “All-American Muslim.”

The show premiered November 13th to 1.7 million viewers and mostly favorable reviews -- the San Francisco Chronicle called it, “TLC at its best.” It follows the lives of Muslim families in Dearborn, Michigan.

“Being in Dearborn has allowed us to practice our faith without losing our sense of American patriotism.”

But the show angered the Florida Family Association, a group that’s mission is to, quote, “Educate people on what they can do to defend, protect and promote traditional, biblical values.” The group told its members to e-mail advertisers and demand that they pull their ads from the show. CNN has statements from the FFA and Lowe’s.

FFA: “All-American Muslim is propaganda that hides the Islamic agenda’s clear and present danger to American liberties and traditional values.”
ERIN BURNETT: “I’m not making this up.”
LOWE’S: “On a case-by-case basis, we will pull our advertising on shows if we learn there are issues raised from a broad spectrum of customers and viewers who represent multiple perspetcives, which Lowe’s understands was the case in this situation with this particular show.”

The Lowe’s pull has generated outrage. A California senator has contacted Lowe’s to air his grievances. The Los Angeles Times reports:

“State Sen. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) wrote a letter Saturday to Lowe's Chief Executive Officer Robert A. Niblock in which he called the decision to pull advertising from the show ‘bigoted, shameful, and un-American’ and ‘profoundly ignorant.’ He demanded that the company rescind its action and apologize or face boycotts and legislative action.”

And a blogger for NJ.com has had enough of anti-Muslim attitudes -- attitudes he says the U.S. has been dealing with for 10 years.

“Islamophobia is a growing industry that has seeped in many aspects of American life. … The religious lynching of American Muslims has persisted unabated ever since the horrific attack of 9-11. … American Muslims, who had nothing to do with 9-11, have been atoning for the sins of criminals who were not American citizens ...”

Lowe’s has since issued a statement apologizing because it, quote, "managed to make some people very unhappy" but has not said that it will reinstate advertising. A spokesperson for TLC says the show still has strong advertising, and that network has no plans to pull it.