By Matthew Jaber Stiffler, Arab American National Museum In early December 2011, I spent two days meeting with Muslim American groups in Grand Rapids, Michigan. First, I met with the Muslim Students Association (MSA) at Grand Valley State University (GVSU) to learn about their programs and events. Every February they hold an Islam Awareness Week on campus, which includes lectures, performances and discussions. This year, nationally known comedian Ahmed Ahmed will be performing. In addition to this week-long event, the members of the MSA help to feed hungry and homeless people through Project Downtown and raise funds for humanitarian relief throughout the Muslim world. They all spoke highly about the supportive environment at GVSU, and were proud that hundreds of students (both Muslim and non-Muslim) attend their events. It was a pleasure to sit down with these dedicated students.

The next evening, I met with the Arab American membership at the Masjid At-Tawheed in Grand Rapids. Although the mosque has members from more than 80 countries, I met specifically with its more than 70 Arab American members. It was a fruitful discussion about the history of their mosque and their relationships with the surrounding community. Some of the most pressing issues facing the community involve the impact of stereotypes and anti-Muslim discrimination on schoolchildren. The mosque has dedicated activists to build bridges with the larger community, such as  Petra Alsoofy (who, fittingly, was also a driving force behind the Muslim Students Association at GVSU). Grand Rapids is an amazing environment for interfaith discussions and problem solving, and the members of the Masjid At-Tawheed are a big part of the conversation.

For example, in August 2011, I attended a community Iftar dinner at the mosque, which was co-sponsored by the Fountain  Street Church in Grand Rapids. An Iftar dinner celebrates the breaking of the fast during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan and is the perfect vehicle for friends and visitors to break bread together, so to speak. More than 100 people gathered at the mosque for a tour, a brief lesson on Islam, and feast of traditional Middle Eastern cuisine. During my meeting at the mosque last December, the community expressed their desire to continue this kind of outreach.

So, imagine my dismay when I returned to work in Dearborn only to read countless disparaging remarks about Islam and Muslim Americans generated by the firestorm over TLC’s All-American Muslim program.

On Dec. 10, 2011, Lowes home improvement stores pulled its advertising from TLC’s groundbreaking reality show All-American Muslim, caving in to pressure from a small anti-Muslim organization in Florida called the Florida Family Association (FFA). The FFA argued that the TLC program was doing a disservice to the American public by not portraying “real” Muslims, or “radical” Muslims.  Eventually other advertisers followed suit, including Internet-based travel site Kayak (which later apologized for its handling of the situation). The controversy was fodder for Facebook and Twitter posts, as well as numerous segments on cable TV news and a poignant piece on Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show.

The divisions over the reality show, which follows the lives of Arab American Muslim families in Dearborn,  Michigan,  created some extremely hateful rhetoric toward Muslims and Arabs. The Islamophobia machine (as detailed by the Center for American Progress’s eye-opening study Fear, Inc.) jumped into action and spewed its typical blend of hate and misinformation about Islam and Muslim Americans, directing much of it at the families depicted in the show. Luckily, many organizations, news outlets, and individuals, including music mogul Russell Simmons, defended not only the show but the civil rights of Muslim Americans. USA Today researched and wrote a wonderful piece about the show and the  controversy surrounding it.

Perhaps the current national conversation about Islam and Muslims is so volatile because the majority of Americans say they don’t personally know anyone who is Muslim (62% according to one Time poll). There is certainly no lack of “information” about Muslim Americans in the mainstream media. The difficult part is wading through the cacophony of pundits, bloggers and talking heads to find the real lived experiences of Muslims in the U.S.  I’m happy to report there  are many opportunities for people to  access accurate information. My most recent trip to Grand Rapids demonstrates that there are organizations trying to reach out and educate the general public.

There are national organizations that focus on education about the faith and its adherents, such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). One of the best sites for accurate information is the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, which publishes scholarly but readable reports and surveys.  But the best education remains personal experience, and local mosques and Muslim student groups provide many venues for interaction.