The city of Dearborn, Michigan, issued a public statement Saturday defending its religious holiday observances in response to a federal lawsuit filed Thursday that accuses the city and Mayor Abdullah Hammoud of favoring Muslim holidays over Christian and Jewish ones. The lawsuit, brought by journalist Margot Cleveland, alleges the city spent thousands of dollars celebrating Ramadan while failing to mark Easter or Passover, a claim the city rejects by citing its longstanding commitment to serving all residents fairly.
The legal action revives tensions that escalated in September 2025, when Mayor Hammoud told local pastor Ted Barham he was not welcome in the city following a dispute over the naming of a street after Osama Siblani. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and asks a federal judge to rule that Dearborn violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the Constitution by allegedly establishing a preference for one faith over others in a city with a majority Arab American population.
What the Left Is Saying
City officials, including Mayor Abdullah Hammoud, have framed the criticism as attacks on Dearborn’s diversity and inclusive identity. In a statement issued Saturday, a city spokesperson said Dearborn has "a longstanding commitment to serving all residents fairly and equitably, regardless of faith or background." The city asserted that it has "increasingly come under attack precisely because of its welcoming nature and the diversity of the people who proudly call Dearborn home."
Hammoud has previously addressed similar criticisms directly, telling The Guardian in November that "everyone knows the city of Dearborn is a place where everyone is welcome — Christian or Jew or whatever your background." The mayor characterized his earlier remarks to Pastor Barham as frustration with a "bad faith actor" in the community, rather than a rejection of a specific faith group. The city’s stance is that it will "continue to uphold the rights and dignity of every resident" and ensure equal protection under the law.
What the Right Is Saying
The lawsuit, filed by Margot Cleveland, a journalist for The Federalist, argues that Dearborn has been "a hostile place for Christians and Jews" for too long. The filing states that Mayor Hammoud has "taken this hostility to the next level, openly conveying the message that Christians and Jews are not welcome in the city and are, indeed, second-class citizens." Cleveland’s legal team contends that the city’s spending patterns demonstrate a clear preference for Islamic holidays, citing specific expenditures on Ramadan banners and a crescent-moon symbol while ignoring Christian and Jewish observances.
Conservative critics and the lawsuit point to the September 2025 City Council clash as evidence of this hostility. During the meeting, Mayor Hammoud spoke against Pastor Ted Barham after Barham criticized the naming of a street after Osama Siblani, an individual the lawsuit notes supported organizations designated as terrorist by the U.S. government. Barham described the mayor’s reaction as "quite inappropriate," comparing the street naming to creating "Hezbollah Street or Hamas Street." The incident drew attention from conservative influencers who organized a rally in Dearborn in November.
What the Numbers Show
According to the lawsuit, the city of Dearborn spent $1,500 in public funds on Ramadan banners last year. Additionally, the city spent $5,000 on a crescent-moon symbol displayed in its Peace Park. The filing also notes that the Dearborn Police Department sold Ramadan-themed shirts bearing the official department emblem. In contrast, the lawsuit alleges the city did not spend comparable public funds or engage in similar promotional activities for the Christian holiday of Easter or the Jewish holiday of Passover. Dearborn has a population of over 100,000 people and is majority Arab American.
The Bottom Line
This lawsuit highlights ongoing national debates over municipal neutrality in religious observances and the integration of minority communities in local government. The case will test whether city expenditures on specific religious holidays constitute a violation of the First Amendment's Establishment Clause or the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. Legal experts will likely examine whether the city’s actions were secular in purpose or primarily religious, and whether the disparity in spending was intentional or a result of budgetary choices. The outcome could set a precedent for how other diverse municipalities handle public displays and spending related to religious holidays.