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Congressmen Hansen Clarke, Gary Peters and John Dingell sign letter to Lowe's chairman

By Ashley C. Woods | MLive.com

Michigan Congressman Gary Peters

US Representatives Hansen Clarke (D-Detroit), Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield Twp.) and John Dingell (D-Dearborn) were among 32 congressmen who authored a letter asking Lowe's chairman and chief executive to reconsider his advertising decision regarding "All-American Muslim."

The home-improvement chain pulled its advertising from the TLC show, which examines the lives of five Muslim families in Dearborn, after pressure from right-wing groups.

Loew's has said it does not plan to reconsider its decision, which hasn't stifled nationwide outrage.

In an unrelated political move, California Senator Ted Lieu has said he is considering calling for a boycott of the corporation.

Dec. 15, Press & Guide: "I am concerned with Lowe’s decision to pull advertising on a show that depicts the lives of five Metro Detroit Muslim-American families," said Peters, a Bloomfield Township Democrat. "This action is unacceptable and it appears the decision was made out of intolerance for Muslims. Metro Detroit is home to one of the largest Muslim communities in United States and I’m proud of our diverse culture."

The letter from the congressmen comes at the same time as the announcement of a Detroit-based protest of Lowe's Home Improvement stores Saturday organized by a coalition of Christian and Muslim leaders, including the African American Ministers Leadership Council, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and the People for the American Way Foundation. The demonstration will take place at a Lowe's store in Allen Park at 11 a.m. tomorrow.

Click here to read the letter, which is reprinted below.

"We are dismayed that your decision was influenced by an online petition from the Florida Family Association, a group that has advocated discrimination and bigotry in the past. This group alleges that All-American Muslim "is propaganda that hides the Islamic agenda's clear and present danger to American liberties and traditional values." This dangerously false view of American Muslims has no place in our society, and by pulling your advertising, you are tacitly agreeing that this absurd notion deserves credence. It does not.

In your statement explaining why you decided to pull your advertising you claimed that this was a "hotly contested debate." Quite frankly, there is absolutely no contested debate about the contribution of Muslim-Americans to American society. Yes, we face threats from radical Islamic extremists, but the millions of patriotic, peace-loving Muslims living and working in America are our best defense against them, and only strengthen the fabric of our nation. Instead, today they face the same bigoted notions that previously have been directed against African-Americans, Japanese-Americans, Irish-Americans, Italian-Americans, Jewish-Americans, Catholic-Americans and others.

Further, your actions give credibility to the view that we accept discrimination towards Muslims as a nation, which harms our national security by feeding recruitment efforts by extremist Islamic organizations. In fact, Denis McDonough, President Obama's Deputy National Security Adviser, recently noted that Al Qaida's core recruiting argument is that the West is at war with Islam. A chief goal of our national security policy is to undermine this contention. We fear that public actions like the one taken by your company this week, if not quickly corrected, may buttress this false argument.

We implore you to reconsider your decision and live up to your corporate ideals of diversity and inclusion and the values of tolerance and acceptance that create the foundation of our nation."

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