DCU Faculty Of Humanities and Social Sciences Assignment SubmissionStudent Name(s): Cortney CopelandStudent Number(s): 11102578Programme: HMSAX - Study Abroad (Humanities & Soc Science)Project Title: Final EssayModule code: CM 510Lecturer: Debbie GingProject Due Date: 16/1/2012

DeclarationI the undersigned declare that the project material, which I now submit, is my own work. Any assistance received by way of borrowing from the work of others has been cited and acknowledged within the work. I make this declaration in the knowledge that a breach of the rules pertaining to project submission may carry serious consequences.I am aware that the project will not be accepted unless this form has been handed in along with the project.

Signed: Cortney Copeland

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Defining America: Media Discourse Surrounding All-American Muslim

Lowe’s home improvement store sparked a firestorm when the nationwide American

chain pulled its advertising from The Learning Channel’s (TLC’s) new reality show All-

American Muslim in December 2011, allegedly in response to a petition from the conservative

Christian group the Florida Families Association (FFA) (“Lowe’s” 2011). Media coverage of the

story has responded by portraying the company’s actions as un-American and as capitulation

to a small fringe group. “Americanness” has been prevalent in much of the discourse

surrounding the event, from the show’s name to the FFA’s claims about a Muslim threat to

American values; but while American identity has taken a central role in media discourse

surrounding the controversy, what constitutes this identity has rarely been questioned or

discussed. Overall, mainstream media discourse has described America according to the

ideology of liberal multiculturalism, and defined it against an out-group of bigots. However,

such a black-and-white interpretation of the controversy over All-American Muslim fails to

acknowledge competing ideas of American identity, and likewise fails to recognise that being

American does not automatically smooth cultural differences or cure conflicts and prejudice.

All-American Muslim is a reality TV show that follows the daily lives of five Muslim

families living in Dearborn, Michigan, a region with a high Muslim population. While the show

has become a subject of controversy, its content largely has not; the show has in fact been

characterised as “tepid” (Freedman 2011) and “banal” (Khan 2011) as it follows characters

such as a young couple expecting their first child, a high school football coach, and a

policeman. Such “wholesome” (Freedman 2011) people are in fact a contrast to much of TLC’s

other programming, which includes programs about hoarders, addicts, and toddler beauty

queens (tlc.howstuffworks.com). Yet while it is far from action-packed, the show addresses

significant issues such as how Muslim Americans deal with the anniversary of 9/11, how they

feel about Muslim extremists, women’s decisions about whether or not to wear the hijab,

intercultural marriage, and experiences of discrimination (tlc.howstuffworks.com/videos/all-

american-muslim). These are portrayed alongside more universalised experiences such as

raising a family and working. The show also features footage from group discussions among

the cast about some of the aforementioned topics. Among those who appear in or who have

seen All-American Muslim, there seems to be an agreement that the purpose of the show is

simply to demonstrate that Muslims are “just regular folks” (Freedman 2011, Lalami 2011).

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The FFA, however, has sent mass emails to numerous companies asking them to stop

advertising on a propagandistic show that hides a “clear and present [Islamist] danger to

American liberties” (FFA cited in “Lowes” 2011). Since then, Lowe’s and a travel company

Kayak have both stopped advertising on All-American Muslim, although they deny that the FFA

is their sole reason for doing so (Birge 2011, Hafner 2011, Rice 2011). While the FFA claims

that 65 companies have pulled their advertising, several companies have made statements to

the contrary, declaring that they are in fact still advertising on the show (Elliott & Stelter

2011). Although Lowe’s and Kayak have both received criticism for their decisions, both have

stated that they will not reinstitute their advertising on All-American Muslim (Rice 2011).

Since the story has been made public, Lowe’s and Kayak have been struggling to defend their

decisions while simultaneously distancing themselves from clearly anti-Muslim supporters

(Birge 2011, Hafner 2011, Popken 2011).

The media texts reviewed for this paper originally included 14 news articles from eight

different publications, along with 16 opinion pieces and blogs from nine different

publications. However, only 10 news articles and five opinion pieces were finally included.

Those left out were redundant, addressed side topics such as show ratings, or were opinion

pieces on religion in general. All articles were accessed online. Reader comments on several of

the aforementioned pieces are also considered. Additional sources include company

statements from Lowe’s and Kayak, and TLC’s All American Muslim website which includes a

show description and a collection of 38 video clips from the season’s episodes. The above

texts were selected because they include several of the main national publications from which

smaller publications tend to draw their content, and cover both political and entertainment

news. While most of the emphasis will be given to hard news stories as a large number of the

opinion pieces simply offer more of the same perspective. Those opinion pieces that differ

from the main narrative, along with reader comments, provide useful counterpoints to the

media’s emphasis on a single definition of American identity and their reliance on the

ideology of liberal multiculturalism. While the limitations of this analysis do not permit an in-

depth treatment of them, they must at least be acknowledged and can provide material for

further study.

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Liberal multiculturalism as discussed here is defined according to the work of Stuart

Hall. Additionally, his ideas regarding identity construction will be engaged. Hall (2001)

describes five different kinds of multiculturalism:

conservative multiculturalism assimilates difference into the customs of the majority. Liberal multiculturalism subordinates difference to the claims of a universal citizenship. Pluralist multiculturalism corrals difference within a communally segmented social order. Commercial multiculturalism exploits and consumes difference in the spectacle of the exotic ‘other’. Corporate multiculturalism manages difference in the interests of the centre (p. 3).

While virtually all of these variations of multiculturalism have emerged to some capacity in

the Lowe’s controversy, the mainstream media have predominantly featured liberal

multiculturalism, presenting it as a core component of American history and identity.

Of the hard news articles sampled, nine overtly address American identity while one

clearly contrasts “racist” supporters of Lowe’s to mainstream politicians and celebrities (in

other words, recognisable Americans). Overall, three main themes appear: the inclusion of

Muslims as patriotic “regular” Americans, the portrayal of diversity and inclusion as

fundamental components of American identity, and the characterisation of the FFA and those

who agree with Lowe’s actions as un-American bigots.

A USA Today article describes one All-American Muslim cast member as somebody

“doing what every other American is doing” in her daily life (Allen 2011). The same article

says that Dearborn’s mayor “sees the series (All-American Muslim) as reflecting the standard

American story of immigrants” (Allen 2011). One Muslim interviewee describes having family

members who are veterans or currently in the military, and asks, “is that not American

enough?” (Allen 2011), while another asserts that after 9/11, Muslim “students were just as

American as any students around the country… they were flying American flags” (Allen 2011).

The Press and Guide quotes US Representative Dingell when he “can say first hand [Muslims

are] just as patriotic as every other American” (“Congressman” 2011). An article on the Fox

News website describes the Muslim cast of the show as “loyal Americans” (“Lawmakers”

2011), while the New York Times quotes the retailer Sears’ statement that they “are proud to

serve a diverse customer base which represents a true cross-section of America” (Elliott &

Stelter 2011).

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Establishing that Muslims are, in fact, American has thus appeared as one of the

foremost agenda items in the mainstream media. Although this assertion is largely made in

the form of quoted statements, the news industry is responsible for choosing which

perspectives and statements to include, and they have chosen ones that unanimously agree.

Interestingly, many of the statements not only assert that Muslims are American, but that they

are as American as everybody else. This implies a continuum of Americanness along which

people can have different positions, and a monolithic “everybody else” is the standard to

which Muslims are compared. Whether such a standard American population even exists,

however, is not considered, and the characteristics of “every other American” are assumed

rather than defined. National pride and a connection to military service are the only aspects of

the hypothetical standard American clearly included, implying that patriotism is both

necessary and sufficient to be considered American. Readers are otherwise left to interpret

Americanness through long-perpetuated national myths like “The American dream” one All-

American Muslim cast member says she is pursuing (Allen 2011). It is to this mythical America

that “every other American” belongs- an America in which everybody has a job, a family, a

house, etc- in which everybody follows “mainstream” values. The fact that All-American

Muslim includes only nuclear families and people employed in respectable, well-paying jobs

plays into this mainstream “All-American” America, and the media can thus take this limited

conception of America for granted when including Muslims in it. The mythical America does

not include people who have dreadlocks, protest the government, make massive fortunes

through corruption, or live on welfare payments. In asserting that Muslims are American, both

the show and the media around it are really asserting that Muslims who work steady,

respectable jobs and wave American flags are like every other American who works a steady,

respectable job and waves an American flag. This is the idealised group- the idealised nation-

to which American Muslims must belong in order to be accepted.

The idealised America, according to the media, includes tolerance, diversity, and

equality while it excludes discrimination. A Detroit Baptist minister quoted in USA Today

states that Lowe’s does not have a “Muslim issue” but rather “an American issue” (Allen 2011).

CNN quotes a tweet from All-American Muslim cast member Shadia Amen-McDermott calling

for people to “Stand United” against “Bigotry and Hatred in this Country Founded on Peace,

Justice, and Equality” (“Lowe’s” 2011). Likewise, another CNN article quotes the hip-hop

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celebrity Russell Simmons saying "This country is built on religious freedom …This is the kind

of hate that tears this country apart" (Duke 2011). Fox News quotes US Congressman Ellison’s

similar statement, “Our nation's history is full of examples demonstrating how we have

repeatedly torn down false divisions hate groups choose to create” along with his claim that

Lowe’s “is choosing to disregard the First Amendment” (“Lawmakers” 2011). The article

further quotes Ellison’s allegations that Lowe’s actions are “un-American” (“Lawmakers”

2011), a phrase that is repeated when the LA Times quotes California State Senator Ted Lieu’s

accusations that Lowe’s decision was “bigoted, shameful, un-American” and “ignorant” (Sewell

2011). Politicians, representing the formal American position, are portrayed as strongly

against Lowe’s actions when the Press and Guide includes the fact that “more than 30

Congressmen sent a letter to Lowe’s’ CEO” asking the company to apologise (“Congressman”

2011).

In the above representation of America, diversity and tolerance are as fundamental as

patriotism. While the media stories quoted above do in several cases acknowledge

widespread and even institutional discrimination against Muslims (Allen 2011, Freedman

2011), this discrimination is inserted as another chapter in a national narrative that portrays

the “real” America repeatedly fighting against and overcoming the prejudice that is against its

core values. Producing and supporting All-American Muslim is characterised as a part of this

ongoing fight, and standing against it is therefore standing against America’s tradition of

tolerance. Such a representation of America- something along the lines of “America is tolerant

and that is that” – creates a dichotomy in which people are either happily multicultural

Americans, or ostracised bigots. There is no room in such a dichotomy to earnestly discuss

what multiculturalism means or to address the fact that many American citizens do hold

prejudices. Such rhetoric is in fact a casting aside of responsibility, creating a tolerant “us” and

a bigoted “them” rather than a “we” who have some issues to work out together.

According to Hall, this contrast with an “other” is always included in the process of

identity construction. “Every identity is an exclusion”, he claims, “To leave something out is an

act of … symbolic power, which is to say: I am what I am because I’m not the other” (Hall 1997,

p. 16). In the story told by media surrounding All-American Muslim, America is multicultural

and tolerant because it condemns those who espouse religious bigotry as outsiders. In

addition to the examples in the above paragraph, the Press and Guide quotes a US

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Representative Dingell, from Dearborn, saying, “it has been encouraging to see so many

individuals throughout, not only Southeast Michigan, but the entire nation, come together to

stand up against outsider attempts to mislead and create fear surrounding our Muslim

neighbors” (“Congressman” 2011, emphasis added). Thus while those supporting Dearborn

are part of a unified nation, the FFA and its supporters are not granted the same inclusion. The

fact that they are fellow American citizens is not acknowledged; they stand outside “the entire

nation” that has come together against them. The media have, in fact, taken it upon themselves

to present the FFA as an outsider, portraying it as an “extreme fundamental group”

(“Congressman” 2011) headed by “one dude with a poorly made website” (Freedman 2011).

News stories have emphasised that the FFA’s sole full-time employee is David Caton, “one

fringe individual with an e-mail list” and a former pornography addict (Freedman 2011). The

media has also focused on the falsity of FFA claims, exposing them as untrue (Elliott & Stelter

2011). Lowe’s in turn has been characterised as caving in and fearing the FFA. While these

descriptions of the FFA are not necessarily inaccurate, and the correction of its false claims is

an important aspect of journalism, the effect of intensely focusing on them has been to portray

the FFA as an irrational outlier, a freak against which America can define itself. The result is

that discrimination is blamed on a scapegoat who “manufactured” the controversy (“An All-

American Misstep” 2011), and while it is condemned it is not taken seriously. Even as the

media is accusatory it is dismissive, never addressing anti-Muslim sentiment as something

that can exist in different forms, to different degrees, and among different kinds of people. The

possibility of “good Americans” holding stereotyped views of Muslims is neglected because it

is too complicated for an identity based on “us” and “them”, while disagreement over the

nature of multiculturalism is never even considered. One could say the same thing about

America that Hall has said about Britain: “the dominant version of the story has …

systematically overplayed the unity and homogeneity of the nation” (2001, p. 9).

The seemingly hegemonic vision of cultural diversity portrayed by the media is that of

liberal multiculturalism- the subordination “of difference to claims of universal citizenship”

(Hall 2001, p. 3). USA Today devotes a significant section of its article to discussing the

diversity of Dearborn. One longtime resident says proudly of his acquaintance with footballer

Gino Martelli, “He wasn't my Italian friend. Nobody looked at me as their Arab-American

friend or Muslim friend” (Allen 2011). Such statements downplay both ethnic and religious

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differences, while the common identity of being American is, as demonstrated above, made

preeminent. However, Hall is critical of liberal multiculturalism for the very reason that it fails

to engage with what he calls “the play of difference” (2001 p. 5). No amount of asserting that

every American subgroup is American will make them all the same, or can make them agree

on such contentious topics as public expressions of religion. In fact it is quite easy to espouse

the values of liberal multiculturalism while turning a blind eye to cultural tension or conflict.

For example, in Kayak’s statement explaining their reasons for no longer advertising on All-

American Muslim, chief marketing officer Birge writes, “we adamantly support tolerance and

diversity… We get what America is about” (2011). However, when Birge discussed Kayak’s

decision with a New York Times reporter, he explained: “When TLC pitched ‘All-American

Muslim’ to advertisers, it was characterized as a fair-and-balanced look at the life of an

American Muslim … what was not disclosed was the pre-existing controversy surrounding

race, religion and specifically the divide between the Muslim and Christian communities in

Dearborn, Mich.” (Elliott 2011). “The play of difference” is too messy to be free of controversy,

yet Birge’s vision of diversity clearly does not include the conflicts and realities of a

multicultural society. Liberal multiculturalism’s claims of universal citizenship are naively

idealistic. For many people reading the news articles surrounding All-American Muslim, such

discourse is clearly inadequate.

Comments left on articles about All-American Muslim range from the overtly racist to

the astutely critical, and nearly all present differing ideas about both Muslim Americans and

American identity more generally. Many comments reveal that some people cannot or do not

wish to reconcile the images they see of violence and repression among Muslims with the

positive portrayals in All-American Muslim: Realamericangirl commented on Duke (2011)

“The show is fake. They should have mentioned the ‘honor killing’ of a young woman just

down the road recently” while a comment on USA Today reads “i am sorry but i do not believe

this story... we get to see muslims beheading an American journalist and their sharyia

pracitice and forcing little girls into forced marriages! Is this story about fantasy island or

Dorothy in Kansas city…” (comment on Allen 2011). It is quite possible that this skepticism

has been encouraged by past media representations of Muslims and a preponderance of

negative stories. The media’s jump to defend All-American Muslim can in this context almost

seem hypocritical. Furthermore, the heavy presence of such negative comments on nearly

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every news article reveals that the media’s dismissive treatment of the FFA perhaps

underestimates the pervasiveness of anti-Muslim bias.

Interestingly, while the news media have largely leveled accusations at Lowe’s and left

the FFA at the sidelines as a radical group not to be taken seriously, opinion writers have been

much more critical of the FFA’s rhetoric and its potential impact. In The Washington Post’s

opinion section John Esposito compares the FFA’s rhetoric to the Manifesto written by the

Norwegian terrorist Anders Breivik (2011), while in The New York Times Salam Al-Marayati

compares it to anti-Semitic Nazi propaganda (2011). The ideas expressed by the FFA cannot

be dismissed as solely belonging to fringe groups, nor can they be taken lightly. While the

media have provided a useful space for debate in opinion sections, their tendency to belittle

and ridicule the FFA in news articles has been adopted by those who comment on them

(“Florida Farts Association”, according to one comment on Duke (2011)). Such belittling risks

underestimating the influence of so-called fringe groups.

Finally, comments have repeatedly raised issues both of free speech and of religious

tolerance, with users quoting a variety of texts ranging from Ben Franklin’s autobiography to

the Bible. The contentiousness of these supposedly central American values reveals the

necessity of what Lentin (2002) would call a ‘politics of interrogation’ of Americanness. While

liberal multiculturalism simply demonstrates the appearance of diversity in a unified America,

Lentin’s interculturalism interrogates concepts of national identity, while Hall asserts that

“by definition, a multicultural society must involve practices and debates between more than one group. There has, therefore, to be some framework in which serious conflicts of outlook, belief and interests can be negotiated, and this can’t be simply the framework of one group writ large or universalized” (2001, p. 16).

While the news portrays American identity as if it is clear, unified, and agreed upon,

public discourse reveals no such agreement even on core components of the Constitution. The

news’ simple portrayal of one-dimensional Americanness and superficial multiculturalism

clearly does not provide the kind of interrogation or framework described by Lentin and Hall,

nor does it satisfy the people who are filling up comment feeds and facebook walls with their

arguments. Since the very existence of a show like All-American Muslim reveals that being a

Muslim American is still a challenged identity, a new discourse must emerge that explores

American identity as much as it does Islam.

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