Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons is throwing his financial support behind the TLC reality series “All-American Muslim,” after retail giant Lowes pulled it’s advertising from the show claiming the show did not meet their advertising guidelines.
Simmons intends to use the time slots to advertise his prepaid Visa card, RushCard. However, he tweeted late on Monday that he was having difficulty securing the ads ahead of Sunday’s 10 p.m. broadcast of “All-American Muslim.”
“Just purchased remaining spots for #allamericanmuslim for next week. The show is now sold out! keep your money @lowes and we will keep ours,” Simmons, as @UncleRUSH
“I’m trying to buy ads during #AllAmericanMuslim airing this Sunday, but now they are saying they are sold out. I will keep trying …”
Simmons decided to buy ads in defiance of the conservative evangelical group Florida Family Association and Lowe’s for yanking its ads from “All-American Muslim.” The hardware company succumbed to pressure by the conservative group to stop financially supporting the series because believed it to be “propaganda clearly designed to counter legitimate and present-day concerns about many Muslims.”
“All-American Muslim,” as described by TLC, looks at the lives of several families in Dearborn, Mich., which has one of the largest Muslim communities in the country. The series highlights how the family members tackle issues including assimilation, interfaith marriage and conversion, women and careers, the wearing of women’s head covering and society’s view of their heritage and religion. Russell Simmons himself is a practicing Buddhist.
