Dearborn, Michigan sued over alleged favoritism toward Muslim holidays in public displays

Journalist Margot Cleveland filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Dearborn, Michigan, and its mayor, Abdullah Hammoud, alleging the city favors Muslim holidays over other faiths. The suit claims Dearborn spent thousands of public dollars on Ramadan displays while ignoring requests to recognize Easter and Passover. Dearborn officials defended the city, attributing the legal challenge to attacks on its diverse, majority Arab American population.

Dearborn religious favoritism lawsuit

• ▪The city of Dearborn issued a statement on September 19, 2026, defending itself against the federal civil rights lawsuit filed by journalist Margot Cleveland against the city and Mayor Abdullah Hammoud, stating it has a longstanding commitment to serving all residents fairly and equitably regardless of faith
• ▪Margot Cleveland, a journalist for The Federalist, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit on September 17, 2026, against the city of Dearborn, Michigan, and its mayor, Abdullah Hammoud.
• ▪The lawsuit filed by Margot Cleveland accuses the city of Dearborn and Mayor Abdullah Hammoud of favoring the Muslim faith over other religious beliefs by celebrating Muslim holidays while ignoring Christian and Jewish holidays.

Muslim holiday public displays

• ▪Margot Cleveland sent emails to Dearborn officials stating she did not want the city to stop celebrating Muslim holidays but requested equal recognition for Christian and Jewish holy days, such as Easter and Passover.
• ▪The city of Dearborn spent $1,500 of public money on Ramadan banners and $5,000 on a crescent-moon symbol displayed in Peace Park in 2025, while the Dearborn Police Department sold Ramadan-themed shirts bearing the official department emblem.
• ▪The city of Dearborn expanded its Ramadan displays in February 2026 by commissioning crescent-and-star lights that were displayed on municipal streetlights across the city.

Constitutional violations alleged

• ▪The American Freedom Law Center, representing Margot Cleveland, alleges that Dearborn's public funding of Ramadan displays while ignoring requests for Christian and Jewish displays constitutes a straightforward Establishment Clause violation.
• ▪The lawsuit filed by Margot Cleveland seeks unspecified damages and asks a federal judge to find that the city of Dearborn violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.

Mayor Hammoud retaliation claims

• ▪A federal civil rights lawsuit filed by journalist Margot Cleveland against the city of Dearborn and Mayor Abdullah Hammoud alleges that in April 2026, Margot Cleveland was told she could attend a community meeting as a resident but not as a journalist, and that Mayor Abdullah Hammoud made snide comments about residents criticizing the city on social media
• ▪Mayor Abdullah Hammoud stated in November 2025 that his comments made during the September 2025 City Council clash with pastor Ted Barham were misconstrued and reflected frustration with a single bad-faith actor rather than hostility toward an entire faith
• ▪A federal civil rights lawsuit filed by journalist Margot Cleveland against the city of Dearborn and Mayor Abdullah Hammoud points to a September 2025 City Council meeting where Mayor Abdullah Hammoud told Christian pastor Ted Barham that he was not welcome in Dearborn and that Hammoud would stage a parade when Barham left

Dearborn Arab American demographics

• ▪Mayor Abdullah Hammoud was elected in November 2021, becoming the first Muslim and Arab American mayor to lead the city of Dearborn.
• ▪Dearborn, Michigan, has a population of over 100,000 people and is home to one of the largest Arab American communities in the United States, with 54.5% of its 109,976 residents reporting Middle Eastern or North African ancestry in the 2020 Census.