Michigan City Hit With Lawsuit Alleging Unequal Treatment of Religious Holidays

By Andrew Powell (/journals/andrew-powell)

A Dearborn, Michigan, resident has filed a federal lawsuit accusing the city and Mayor Abdullah Hammoud of treating Muslim religious observances differently from Christian and Jewish holidays. Margot Cleveland, a senior legal correspondent for The Federalist, filed the civil rights lawsuit Thursday through the American Freedom Law Center, according to Fox News. The complaint alleges violations of her First and Fourteenth Amendment rights, including claims involving religious establishment, free speech, and equal protection. The dispute centers on Ramadan decorations that Cleveland says appeared on city property in 2025. According to the lawsuit, the city spent $1,500 on Ramadan banners and another $5,000 on a large crescent-moon display while declining to provide comparable recognition for Easter and Passover. Cleveland said in emails to city officials that she was not asking Dearborn to remove the Ramadan displays. Instead, she requested that Christian and Jewish holidays receive similar treatment. “I much prefer to ensure equality of faith traditions, as opposed to a challenge to the display,” Cleveland wrote, according to the complaint. The lawsuit says Dearborn later expanded its Ramadan decorations. In February 2026, the city commissioned crescent-and-star lights for municipal streetlights, and Hammoud said the project reflected the city’s identity. The complaint also points to a September 2025 confrontation between Hammoud and Christian pastor Ted Barham during a City Council meeting. Barham had criticized the city’s decision to rename a street after Usama Siblani, publisher of The Arab American News. According to the lawsuit, Hammoud called Barham a “bigot” and an “Islamophobe” before telling him he was “not welcome” in Dearborn. The city’s handling of that exchange is cited by Cleveland’s attorneys as part of their broader claim of hostility toward Christians. Cleveland’s attorneys also allege that she faced retaliation after publicly raising concerns about the holiday displays. The complaint says she was later told she could attend a community meeting as a resident but not in her capacity as a journalist. The American Freedom Law Center says Cleveland is seeking a declaration that her constitutional rights were violated, an injunction against the practices challenged in the lawsuit, nominal damages and legal costs. The case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. The allegations remain claims in litigation, and the lawsuit does not establish that the city or Hammoud violated the Constitution. Watch the video below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQOmYhK8_J8&t=1s