A federal lawsuit filed Thursday alleges the city of Dearborn spent thousands of taxpayer dollars on public displays celebrating Muslim holidays while ignoring a Christian resident’s repeated requests for Easter and Passover recognition.
Margot Cleveland, a journalist with The Federalist, filed a civil rights lawsuit with the American Freedom Law Center (AFLC) against the city of Dearborn and Democratic Mayor Abdullah Hammoud, alleging the city violated her First and Fourteenth Amendment rights, including protections involving religious establishment, free speech and equal protection.
“The City of Dearborn spent taxpayer money to light up its streets and parks for Ramadan while stonewalling a resident who simply asked that Easter, Passover, and other Christian and Jewish holy days be treated the same way,” Robert J. Muise, AFLC co-founder and senior counsel, said in a statement. “That is a straightforward Establishment Clause violation, and the retaliation our client faced for speaking up about it only compounds the constitutional harm.”
Dearborn is home to one of the largest Arab American communities in the country. The city had 109,976 residents in the 2020 Census, and 54.5% reported Middle Eastern or North African ancestry. Michigan Avenue, the city’s main thoroughfare, is lined with businesses featuring Arabic-script signs and Middle Eastern cuisine. There are ten mosques within the city limits, according to an online directory.
Hammoud was first elected mayor in November 2021, becoming the first Muslim and Arab American to lead the city of Dearborn.
“What makes this case especially troubling is that City officials, up to and including the Mayor, responded to a citizen’s respectful request for equal treatment with silence, stonewalling, and outright hostility — including the Mayor’s own words telling a Christian resident he is ‘not welcome’ in his own city,” David Yerushalmi, an attorney on the case, said. “Our client is simply asking the City to treat Christians and Jews as equal citizens.” --->READ MORE HERE
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| Dieu-Nalio Chery/Reuters |
A new lawsuit against the city of Dearborn, Mich., and its mayor alleges city officials have used public funds and city property to celebrate Ramadan, while refusing requests from residents to similarly recognize Christian and Jewish holidays.
The lawsuit, filed by the American Freedom Law Center on behalf of Dearborn resident Margot Cleveland, alleges that not only did Mayor Abdullah Hammoud and other city officials ignore her requests for equality, but they also retaliated against her for speaking out.
Cleveland, who is a senior legal correspondent for The Federalist, first brought the issue to the attention of local officials in April 2025 after the city displayed “Ramadan Kareem” banners and a “large, lighted crescent moon” on public property. Meanwhile, no displays were erected for Lent, Passover or Easter.
Cleveland emailed the Dearborn city attorney on April 6, 2025, asking whether Easter and Passover would be given equal recognition, but she received no response.
She later filed a Freedom of Information Act request and found the city had spent public funds on the Ramadan banners and crescent moon display and that the Dearborn Police Department had produced and sold Ramadan-themed shirts bearing the department’s official emblem.
Several months later, Hammoud lashed out at a Christian pastor who raised concerns during a city council meeting about the planned renaming of a street in Dearborn in honor of Osama Siblani—a public supporter of Hezbollah and Hamas.
“Although you live here, I want you to know as mayor, you are not welcome here,” Hammoud told the pastor, according to the lawsuit. “And the day you move out of the city will be the day that I launch a parade celebrating the fact that you moved out of the city.” --->READ MORE HERE
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