Last week Lowe’s Home Improvement pulled its ads from the TLC show All-American Muslim in response to an organization claiming the show "falsely humanized Muslims in America.” The Lowe’s controversy has exposed more Islamophobia in America. This issue falls directly in line with what the My Fellow American project is trying to prevent and overcome in America.
This week, whether intentionally or not, Kayak.com followed the poor example set by Lowe's, when it, too, decided to pull future advertising from the TLC program "All-American Muslim." Of course advertisers have the right to decide where they run their ads, but it is disappointing to see a company feed into the fear mongering facing the American Muslim community.
No company can argue it is not taking a political stand when it yanks advertising from a TV program because of the religion of the people portrayed on the show and the unfortunate and unnecessary political controversies surrounding them. Kayak.com's decision to cease running ads on TLC during broadcasts of "All-American Muslim" is evidence not only that the travel website's leadership would rather sacrifice publicity and potential sales than risk being seen as supportive of a certain segment of the American population, but more importantly, that it sends a message that it may not respect the diversity of faiths that define and enrich our country, despite what Kayak officials might say to the contrary.
Huffington Post - My Fellow American