New reality series tracks lives of American Muslims

New reality series tracks lives of American Muslims
By Dan Gilgoff, CNN.com Religion Editor

(CNN) - TLC is premiering a reality series about the lives of American Muslims this fall, "All American Muslim," the cable TV network announced this week.

The series tracks five Muslim families living around Dearborn, Michigan, home to one of the nation's largest Muslim enclaves.

The series is about “inviting viewers into a world they might not otherwise experience,” said TLC's general manager Amy Winter in a press release.

"Through these families and their diverse experiences, we will explore how they blend their values and traditions with everyday life in America," Winter said in the Thursday release, "providing insight into their culture with care and compassion.”

The series, which premieres in November, tracks "very distinct lives that often times challenge the Muslim stereotype," according to the release.

Characters include a pair of tight-knit sisters, one of whom wears a traditional Islamic headscarf and one who sports piercings and tattoos and has recently married an Irish Catholic man who is converting to Islam.

Another character is a consultant to big auto manufacturer and struggles to strike a balance between work and raising a modern Muslim family, according to the TLC release.

A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll released earlier this year found that 46% of all Americans have a favorable view of American Muslims, while 26% have an unfavorable view.

"Overall, positive views of American Muslims have risen since 2002, when memories of 9/11 were still fresh in most Americans' minds," said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland in March, when the poll was released.

In 2002, only 39% of all Americans said they had a favorable view of Muslims.