'All-American Muslim' Targeted by PETA

9:18 AM PST 12/14/2011 by Rebecca Ford

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TLC

TLC’s reality series sparked outcry from the animal rights group after a woman on the show gave away her 10-year-old dog due to allergies.

TLC’s reality series, All-American Muslim, has already seen plenty of the spotlight after retail giant Lowe’s came under fire for pulling its ads from the show.

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Now the reality series about five Lebanese American Muslim families in Michigan is feeling the heat from another group – PETA.

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In the fourth episode, one of the show’s stars, Shadia Amen, blaming her allergies, gives away her husband's 16-year-old dog.

PETA announced that the organization had sent a letter to David Zaslav, the president, CEO, and director of TLC, asking him to air a PETA public service announcement featuring Muslim-Americans asking viewers to consider the words of The Prophet (PBUH): "All creatures are like a family of God; and He loves the most those who are the most beneficent to His family."

"Maybe if more American viewers realized that teachings of compassion for animals are common to all the major faiths—including Islam—they'd be interested in learning what else we all have in common," says PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk in a statement. "Promoting understanding is never a bad thing: An individual's race, religion, gender, and species should not be a factor in deciding how to treat him or her."

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In the letter, PETA even mentions the current controversy with Lowe’s. “We were sorry to hear that Lowe’s removed its sponsorship because we believe that understanding is the cornerstone of peace,” states the letter.

PETA goes on to describe the incident over the dog as “a shatteringly cruel episode with the lessons that lives are expendable and that convenience trumps compassion.”

The letter states that the PSA that PETA would like to run features a website, IslamicConcern.com, that is devoted to Muslims and animal issues, and would feature Muslim-Americans discussing how their religious beliefs have influenced their decision to go vegetarian or to make a lifelong commitment to their companion animals.

TLC had no comment.