Interfaith Event Examines Incident With Lowe's, Muslim TV Show

Last month, the hardware store chain Lowe's pulled its advertising from The Learning Channel's cable reality show All-American Muslims, after a campaign by the Florida Family Association urging businesses to remove their support.

Although it had no objections to the series, the company didn't want to be associated with a show that was a lightning rod for controversy.

That incident--as well as honoring the memory of civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr.--is the catalyst for a community event Sunday sponsored by two local mosques. and are hosting an interfaith town hall meeting, The Lowe's Incident: Helping Businesses and Communities Eradicate Hate, to discuss tolerance and ways to combat the kind of discrimination this recent episode exposes. Topics will focus on why this incident should concern people and how individuals can prevent it from repeating. 

"Reading Facebook comments ... in response to articles written on the subject was a horrifying experience," said Khalid Mozaffar, an AIA member. "Many of those comments were openly bigoted, threatening to Muslims, mean-spirited and ignorant. Is this acceptable? Does freedom of speech permit us as Americans to ignore our responsibilities of good citizenship and justice? Must the discourse be mean-spirited and unreasonable?"

Speakers include Amina Shareef of the Chicago chapter of the Council of American-Islamic Relations; the Rev. Jay Finno of St Stephens Catholic Church, Jan Shaulis of Faith United Methodist Church; Amal Ali of the the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago; and Jane Ramsey of the Jewish Council of Urban Affairs. 

Event organizers also invited the owner and manager of the to get the company's perspective on the issue. But Mozaffar said the meeting isn't simply about disecting the hardware store chain's decision.

"This is a much bigger issue than Lowes," he said. "Lowe's actions show us that many still feel groups like FFA are the majority and represent Christianity as a whole. Efforts like this townhall meeting nationwide need to show otherwise".

The Lowe's Incident: Helping Businesses and Communities Eradicate Hate

When: 5 to 7 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 15
Where: The Prayer Center of Orland Park
Cost: Free