Swing state mayor sued as city’s Muslim holiday displays ignite religious-favoritism fight
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."
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Abdullah Hammoud, mayor of Dearborn, speaks during a press conference held by Listen to Michigan campaign one day after the Michigan presidential primary in Dearborn, Michigan, on February 28, 2024. (Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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."
Lawyers for Cleveland pointed to a September exchange between Hammoud and Christian pastor Ted Barham as evidence of what they allege is the city’s hostility toward Christians. Barham had raised concerns during a City Council meeting over the city’s decision to rename a street after Usama Siblani, publisher of The Arab American News, who has made statements expressing support for Hezbollah.
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Ted Barham, a Christian minister, speaks during the Dearborn City Council meeting on Sept. 23, 2025, weeks after his clash with Mayor Abdullah Hammoud drew national attention. (City of Dearborn)
In the exchange, Hammoud called Barham a "bigot" and an "Islamophobe."
"And although you live here, I want you to know as mayor, you are not welcome here," Hammoud told the Christian pastor. "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… because you are not somebody who believes in coexistence."
But Cleveland’s lawsuit alleges that city leaders ignored her requests for the city to also recognize Christian and Jewish holidays after she began seeing "Ramadan Kareem" banners and large crescent moons displayed across the city in spring 2025. A FOIA request revealed that the city had spent $1,500 on Ramadan banners and $5,000 on the crescent-moon display. The Dearborn Police Department was also selling Ramadan-themed T-shirts.
In emails to the city, Cleveland said she did not want the city to stop celebrating Muslim holidays but wanted equal recognition for Christian and Jewish holy days.
"I much prefer to ensure equality of faith traditions, as opposed to a challenge to the display," Cleveland wrote in an email.
The welcome sign for the city of Dearborn is pictured at the city’s entrance in October 2024. (Charly Triballeau/Getty Images)
Not only did the city allegedly ignore Cleveland’s requests, but in February 2026, it expanded its Ramadan displays, commissioning crescent-and-star lights that were displayed on municipal streetlights across the city.
"This initiative reflects who we are as a city," Hammoud said in a statement.
Tensions between Cleveland and city officials continued in April, when Cleveland alleges she was told she could attend a community meeting as a resident but not as a journalist. The lawsuit also alleges Hammoud made what it describes as a "snide comment" about residents who criticize the city on social media to monetize their posts.
The lawsuit also alleges that in February 2026, the city expanded its Ramadan displays, commissioning crescent-and-star lights for municipal streetlights across the city.
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Cleveland pushed back, according to the lawsuit, saying she was simply "a concerned resident who was ignored when I asked for the City to treat Christians and Jews equally."
"Despite the repeated requests, they treated her as if she were an outsider and not a full member of the political community," Muise told Fox News Digital.
The lawsuit comes during Michigan’s closely watched 2026 U.S. Senate race, with Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed, who is Muslim and the son of Egyptian immigrants, facing Republican nominee Mike Rogers for the state’s open Senate seat. Religion and antisemitism have become points of dispute in the race, with Republicans and some Democrats criticizing El-Sayed over his association with streamer Hasan Piker, who said the U.S. was worse than al Qaeda "pound for pound, as far as the number of deaths," while arguing that U.S. military actions that kill civilians can amount to acts of terror.
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At the same time, El-Sayed and his supporters have accused opponents of targeting him with anti-Muslim rhetoric.
Fox News Digital reached out to Hammoud’s office and Cleveland’s attorneys for comment.
Elaine Mallon is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business covering national politics.
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