As the premiere of “All American Muslim” aired on the TLC network, pundits and analysts have drawn parallels between the impact that the show could have for Muslim communities in America and that of the Cosby show in positively changing attitudes towards African Americans, according to New America Media. However, some are concerned that the show may portray a limited and inaccurate perception of Muslims in the US considering its focus on five Shi’ite Muslim American families with roots in southern Lebanon.

“We really hope that we’re able to give viewers that sort of rare chance to kind of get immersed and enjoy the ride with this community that they have previously been completely unexposed to,” remarked Alon Orstein, an executive producer for the series. In light of Islamophobia escalating in America over the past few years, particularly after the Park 51 Islamic Center affair, media experts, organizers, and advocates in the Arab and Muslim community felt that there was a need to normalize Muslims in the US.

“[Muslims] are often stereotyped and misunderstood because of negative portrayals in media and pop culture. [This program] is normalizing Muslims,” argued Amina Sharif, communications director for the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) office in Chicago. “That’s the way [of] American culture – we needed 'The Cosby Show' to help normalize African American families. In this society public opinion is shaped mainly by media and pop culture,” she added.

Overall, the show garnered a positive reaction and was welcomed with broad optimism. Yet, many stressed the importance of not using the show as a way to teach the American public about Islam. Considering the various practices Islam, community members were concerned that the religious habits of these five families would become the face of Islam.

According to Mr. Orstein, diversity with respect to the characters’ religiosity was important. He asserted, “We did achieve a level of diversity with respect to how our different characters experience their faith.” Other criticisms of the show came from anti-Muslim groups, who launched a “boycott TLC for New Program 'All-American Muslim'” Facebook page.

Critics also argued that the program was nothing more than “video jihad propaganda,” while the conservative Florida Family Association announced that it was contacting companies whose advertising appeared on the show to ask them to quit, noted Robert Ure for the conservative website World Net Daily. So far, 18 of the 20 companies contacted have complied and withdrew their advertising.

The Florida Family Association boasted that among the companies that initially supported the program but later chose to remove their ads for airing, were Airborne Vitamin, Amway, Diamond Foods, Dyson Vacuum, Estee Lauder, HTC Phones, Home Depot, McDonald's, Petsmart, Pfizer, Sears, Sonic, T-Mobil and Wal-Mart.

"The Learning Channel's new show 'All-American Muslim' is propaganda clearly designed to counter legitimate and present-day concerns about many Muslims who are advancing Islamic fundamentalism and Shariah law," the organization's report claimed. The report continued, "The show profiles only Muslims that appear to be ordinary folks while excluding many Islamic believers whose agenda poses a clear and present danger to liberties and traditional values that the majority of Americans cherish."

Islamophobes and ultra-conservatives, such as the Robert Spencer who runs Jihad Watch, have accused the show to be "misleading" since it would attempt "to manipulate Americans into ignoring the threat of jihad" by portraying Muslims as "ordinary folk just like you," pointed out IB Times.

Praising the value of reality TV to promote societal values, Ali Wajahat for the Huffington Post argued, “If Geller, Spencer and Horowitz were producing their version of American Muslim reality, the episodes would focus on the families' radical stealth jihadist plots.” Wajahat adheres this stereotypical view of Muslims to ignorance, pointing out that 60 percent of Americans say they do not know a Muslim. Case in point, Wajahat added that nearly half of American Muslims say they have faced discrimination. Furthermore, the FBI just announced anti-Muslim hate crimes have risen 50 percent.

As for being representative of Muslims in America, Wajaht dismisses the accusation, arguing that this is not the aim of the show after all. Drawing analogies to other reality TV series, he commented that “we should exhale and simply let this reality TV show succeed or fail on the merits of its ability to entertain, instead of obsessing about how ‘realistic’ its depiction of Islam and Muslims is.”

Deena Douara for Open Salon’s blog concurs, noting that the point is to determine if the show will actually have a positive impact on Muslim communities or not. She argues that eventually people will be watching it for the right or wrong reasons, seeking to vindicate their opinion rather than be challenged. “The truth is, while media is extremely powerful, we also give it too much credit,” she comments.