DEARBORN — “I, too, sing America,” African American poet Langston Hughes wrote in the mid-1940’s, affirming his belonging and contributions to this nation. Seventy years later, a Coca-Cola Super Bowl ad features “America the Beautiful” being sung on national television in seven different languages. The commercial, which presents varied ethnic and cultural groups, angered some people who seemingly object to some others “singing” America. 

The ad, titled “It’s Beautiful,” stars Muslim women in hijabs, turning it into a topic of discussion in the Arab and Muslim American communities.

Negative comments on social media criticized the ad for presenting a patriotic American song sung in different languages. 

Variations of the comment “speak English or go home” appeared on Facebook and Twitter. Others were more extreme in their attacks, accusing Coke of using the language of “terrorists.” The song was performed in in Spanish, Tagalog, Mandarin, Hindi, Hebrew, Keres and Senegalese-French. 

Some comments were coupled with calls to boycott Coke products. “Screwed up a beautiful song. No Coke for my family,” one comment read on Facebook.  An anti-Muslim blogger wrote, “Buh-Bye, Coca-Cola. Not buyin’ you anymore. America is about speaking English, not illegal alien amnesty and more Muslims, which is clearly what this offensive ad is pimping on you.”

However, the attacks were not made solely by everyday internet users. Some prominent right wing commentators joined in bashing the ad. 

“It’s an ‘in your face’ — and if you don’t like it, if you’re offended by it, then you’re a racist. If you do like it, well then you’re for immigration. That’s what it is. You’re for progress. That’s all this is — is to divide people.”  said Glenn Beck of the commercial.

“Couldn’t make out that song they were singing. I only speak English,” Tweeted Fox News’ Todd Starnes, adding, “So was Coca-Cola saying America is beautiful because new immigrants don’t learn to speak English?”

Meanwhile, Michael Patrick Leahy, a commentator, for Brietbart.com saw the commercial as an attempt to sway public opinion in favor of immigration reform.

“Coca Cola has been on a major amnesty push for at least a year in the hopes that it can obtain cheap labor,” Dollard wrote on his personal blog. “And because its CEO Muhtar Kent is a Muslim who was raised in places like Iran and Indonesia, perhaps for even more sinister reasons.” Kent was born in New York City and is of Turkish descent.

However, most comments on social media were in support of the ad. “Unless you’re speaking Sioux, Cherokee, Navajo, or any other Native American language there is no such thing as #SpeakAmerican,” commented one Twitter user, in response to #SpeakAmerican, a hashtag that trended after the ad aired.

Community reaction

Suehaila Amen, president of the Lebanese American Heritage Club, said she was proud to see the ad. 

“I felt the commercial represented the beauty of the diversity of this great nation, highlighting the stories of immigrant journeys in search of a better life and Americans who seek to live in peace with their fellow Americans,” she said. “It presented the magnificence of the diversity of the American people… Unfortunately, there are many that forget what this nation was founded upon and disregard that it was immigrants, from day one, that came to this country to seek freedom and liberty and accomplish their dreams.”

Amen added that most people in the Arab American community, as well as her diverse friends across the country, were pleased with the commercial, but she was bothered by the unfavorable responses.

“I was deeply saddened to read negative comments, on a wider societal scale, from those who perceive immigrants seeking to fulfill their dreams in this country as un-American because they do not fit the image of what their perception of how an ‘American’ should be,” she said.

Amen, who was featured three years ago on TLC’s reality TV show “All-American Muslim,” said the presence and acceptance of Muslim women in the public sphere has increased since the show was released.

“All-American Muslim highlighted women in hijab with a strong voice, showing us as wives, mothers, daughters, professionals, and friends. The show humanized the image of Muslims and gave a public platform for veiled women to share their lives, as many in America do not believe we have a voice and that we are oppressed,” she said. “I believe that Muslim women in hijab have been more vocal and active in various arenas over the last few years. I have seen the rise of hijabis (women in hijabs) on social media and the internet; fashion bloggers, artists and political activists.”

Amen added that outspoken veiled women will make it easier for Muslim women in the future to be comfortable making themselves heard by the rest of the country.  

Community activist Mirna Haidar said she was surprised by the amount of attention the Coke commercial received.

“I don’t understand why a 60-second video would trigger such a clash in a place like America,” she said, adding that the commercial reflected American society. “I saw a descriptive reality of the American population’s DNA.”

Raquel Evita Saraswati, an American Muslim activist and writer who focuses on issues related to the status of women in Muslim societies, described the ad as an “obvious albeit clever marketing strategy.”

Saraswati said she had mix reactions to the ad. She was pleased to see a favorable display of Muslim women on television, but she did not expect much from the debate that would follow the ad. 

“As a Muslim woman who wears the hijab, I noted that my own reaction to seeing a woman in a headscarf was twofold: it was personally meaningful to see a positive representation of a hijabi, but I also immediately knew that it would spark a national discussion,” she told The Arab American News. “I also knew that the media’s version of the national discussion would leave out many voices, lack nuance, and avoid the most critical questions about why the image both troubled and inspired many.”

She added that the ad is an indicator that Muslim women are often addressed and identified by their dress code.

“I was reminded that in every context Muslim women are still discussed in terms of what we wear,” Saraswati said. “This is true both in the media and within our own communities. Once again, the burden of ‘representation’ rests squarely on our bodies – to be discussed and debated, and to absorb the brunt of what is often a tense discourse.”

Saraswati said despite the differences of the groups portrayed by the commercial, which include a gay couple with a child at an amusement park, two Jewish men looking out of a window and a group of young people dancing on a street, they can all be a part of one American experience.

“America’s beauty is not in the similarity of my struggle to yours,” she said.  “America’s beauty is in its commitment to individual liberty, freedom of conscience, and the diversity of individually lived experiences. America’s beauty is not diminished by the hateful reactions of some or even the flaws of some of our leaders. Rather, America’s beauty lies in the freedom to dissent and to challenge one another in a free marketplace of ideas.”

Coke has not always been inclusive in its Super Bowl ads. Last year, the soda company came under criticism from Arab American groups for starting its commercial with an Arab man roaming the desert on a camel. The ad later turns turns into a race for a Coke bottle between groups of motorcyclers, cowboys and Las Vegas showgirls. The thirsty-looking Arab does not even participate in the race.

Imam Ali Siddiqui, president of the Muslim Institute for Interfaith Studies, was quoted by Reuters last year as saying, “The Coke commercial for the Super Bowl is racist, portraying Arabs as backward and foolish Camel Jockeys, and they have no chance to win in the world.”

Perhaps this year’s Coke ad was, in some way, an answer to last year’s detractors, or perhaps it was not.  But what is clear is that this year’s “beautiful” campaign created a whole new crop of critics.