While cultural and religious diversity have long been staples of American culture, we also have a history of cultural and religious intolerance. Just about every culture has had its turn on the nation’s list of suspicious people and since the turn of the century, the American Muslim community has dealt with the most suspicion, fear and stereotypes.

The terrorist attacks of 9/11 lead to many Americans to incorrectly believe extremists who committed these heinous acts were representative of the totality of people who follow the Qur’an.

Since then, plenty of people have been saying that a Muslim equivalent of the The Cosby Show (which, oddly enough, many people credit with contributing to the campaign success of Barack Obama) would do much to help the Muslim community be seen and respected for who they are (instead of being feared for the actions of a hateful few).

While we have yet to see a true attempt at such a show, this is pretty close. Enter All-American Muslim, a reality show depicting the Islamic faith in America. The TLC show, set in Dearborn, Michigan—home to the country’s largest concentration of Arab-Americans—follows five Muslim families who open their homes and lives for the world to see.

One of the most interesting story lines of the show involves the Amen family, whose daughter Shadia is preparing to marry Jeff McDermott. Jeff, raised in a strict Irish Catholic family, is a recent convert to Islam. Of course, the decision to do so is quite painful for Jeff’s mother, but she also loves his new, welcoming family. Just seeing the two families together at the wedding is indeed quite a powerful scene.

So if you want more cultural diversity and understanding from your reality TV, be sure to tune in to All-American Muslim on Sundays at 10 pm EST on TLC.

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