Lowe's Backlash: Conservative Christian Group Behind Ad Pullout Not Backing Down
The Florida Family Association has received threatening emails and been hacked.
Dec. 13, 2011 — -- The conservative Christian group that pressured Lowe's Home Improvement to pull its ads from a Muslim television show has had its website hacked and has received 1,800 furious and often threatening emails, its founder said today.
The Florida Family Association campaigned against TLC's show "All-American Muslims," and pressured companies not to advertise during the program.
The group's website was hacked by the international hacking group "Anonymous" on Monday night, angering the group's executive director David Caton who called the hackers "terrorists."
"I think this proves the point that we're trying to make that there's a terrorist response to the ideology of free speech in America as it relates to values on the Christian side of the spectrum," Caton told ABCNews.com today. "I've probably gotten close to 1,800 emails, most of which are calling me the worst of names and threatening me."
The TLC show follows five American-Muslim families in Dearborn, Mich., a town with a large Muslim-American population.
Caton believes that the show does not accurately represent the Muslim population by portraying "only the good side and not the bad."
"This is the first program that attempts to show Muslims in one manner and ignore the radical leadership," Caton said. "It gives a false impression and that subtle propaganda changes peoples' minds and softens peoples' attitudes."
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has been at the forefront of fighting back against the Florida group and Lowe's decision to pull its ads.
"They're part of the 1 percent of intolerance in America and we're part of the 99 percent," Dawud Walid, the executive director of the Michigan chapter of CAIR, told ABCNews.com. "And Lowe's, unfortunately, gave in to that 1 percent of fringe hate in America."
Lowe's decision sparked public outrage and calls to boycott the company.
A MoveOn.org campaign with an original goal of 5,000 signatures had over 25,000 signatures as of Tuesday afternoon.
Walid said the situation has touched on a nerve that many people
"I think people are beginning to see the irrational nature of the Islama-phobic movement," Walid said. "That Lowe's capitulated to bigotry because a reality show is not showing so-called extremists really struck people as ridiculous, especially Americans that have had contact or have regular contact with American Muslims."
In addition to consumers, celebrities have gotten into the battle, most prominently Russell Simmons, who is the chairman for the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding.
Simmons has publicly denounced Lowe's through frequent tweets over the past few days, writing, "U endorse hate. U may be held accountable we will promote a boycott if they don't reinstate campaign and apologise."
On Monday afternoon, Simmons tweeted, "I am putting my money where my mouth is," and shortly after, he tweeted again, "Just purchased remaining spots for #allamericanmuslim for next week The show is now sold out! keep your money @lowes and we will keep ours."
