All-American Muslim - Episode 1

The TLC show All-American Muslim is a reality show about the lives of several Muslim families in Dearborn, Michigan, which has the largest concentration of Arab-Americans in the country.  This episode focused mostly on the marriage between a Muslim woman and a Catholic man.  In order for the father of the bride to approve, the groom had to convert to Islam.  At first his Catholic family was not happy about this, but after being welcomed openly at the wedding reception, they changed their opinions.  I think it's interesting to see how the opinions varied within the group of featured Muslims; even non-Muslim Americans who do not automatically hate Muslims are sort of programmed to view them all in one stereotypical way.  We can contrast Nawal, the more conservative but still outgoing pregnant wife, with Nina, the stripperesque strong-willed woman who wants to run her own club.  These women are both Muslims and both claim to honor the faith in their hearts, but their outward practices are definitely very different.  I think it is useful, and I dare say essential, for non-Muslim Americans to see this type of show, canned as it may be, so they can just begin to get a real view inside Islam and see that life for Muslims is not drastically different from life for Christians, Jews, or atheists.  Yes, the hijab is like a neon sign on the forehead that reads MUSLIM, but if people look beyond that, they see "regular" people with a different way of dressing.  Americans suck at accepting people different from themselves, but I think this is a good place to start.  I am intrigued to watch more of this show.  The impression I got was of wholesome families who strive to do their best in life, albeit in very different ways.  I am wondering what sort of day-to-day benefits being a Muslim has.