A Dearborn resident has sued the city of Dearborn and Mayor Abdullah Hammoud, alleging they favor Muslims over Christians and Jews. The lawsuit, filed Thursday, Sept. 17, in federal court in Detroit, is the latest case involving conservative Christians who have raised concerns about Dearborn officials.
The lawsuit was filed by a conservative Judeo-Christian legal group based in Ann Arbor, the American Freedom Law Center, on behalf of Margot Cleveland of Dearborn, who writes for The Federalist, a rightwing online media site with views seen as anti-immigrant. Over the past year, Cleveland has asked city officials to fund religious banners for Christian and Jewish holidays, saying the city pays for Ramadan displays during the month-long Islamic
holiday.
The lawsuit said the city and Hammoud are trying to establish Islam as the dominant religion, violating the Establishment Clause in the First Amendment, which says the government can not establish an official religion. Hammoud is Muslim and Margot describes herself online as a Catholic conservative. Hammoud and the city have shown a "governmental preference for one religion over others in violation of the Establishment Clause," the lawsuit said.
Cleveland is "a taxpayer who objects to her taxes being used to promote Islam and discriminate against Christians and Jews," the suit reads.
Cleveland alleges Hammoud or other officials retaliated against her after she spoke out, claiming they directed the city attorney, Police Chief Issa Shahin and city council members not to communicate with her and banned her from future community meetings even though she's a resident. The lawsuit also lists some comments Hammoud has made, claiming they indicate he is biased in favor of Muslims.
"For too long, the City of Dearborn has been a hostile place for Christians and Jews," the lawsuit reads. "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."
An emailed statement from a spokeswoman for the city said it "has a longstanding commitment to serving all residents fairly and equitably, regardless of faith or background." The statement did not comment on Cleveland's specific allegations and the spokeswoman did not make Hammoud available for an interview.
The statement said that Dearborn "has increasingly come under attack precisely because of its welcoming nature and the diversity of the people," but despite the attacks, "that will not change who we are."
"Dearborn will continue to uphold the rights and dignity of every resident and remain a city where everyone is treated with fairness, respect, and equal protection under the law," the city's statement added.
In April 2025, when the Islamic month of Ramadan was being observed, Cleveland was picking up dinner in Dearborn when she noticed religious banners in the city reading "Ramadan Kareem," a Muslim greeting for Ramadan that means, "Generous Ramadan," according to the lawsuit. Cleveland said she also saw an Islamic crescent moon sculpture in a park. She then contacted the city attorney at the time, Jeremy Romer, asking the city to put up Christian and Jewish religious displays for Easter and Passover respectively. She filed a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request asking for the cost of the Islamic displays and other information.
The banners reading "Ramadan Kareem" cost the city about $1,500 and the crescent-moon display cost $5,000, according to documents Cleveland said she received from the FOIA request. Cleveland said she also found out that the city's police department sold Ramadan T-shirts and that Hammoud invited "select members of the community using his official City government email" for a Ramadan iftar dinner. The city spent $360 for "signage and printing associated with this religious event," the lawsuit said.
The city of Dearborn has held events for other faiths over the years, including an annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony that Hammoud has attended and promoted. Hammoud also has received support from Christian faith leaders in the city, such as the Rev. Bob McCabe, a Catholic priest with Divine Child Catholic Church in Dearborn. Since becoming mayor, the city has held some Ramadan festivals and added Islamic holidays to the city calendar, which means some city offices are closed during the Eid holidays. About half of Dearborn's residents are Muslim, according to census data and experts.
Cleveland said she contacted city officials, including council members, about her requests to support Christian and Jewish holidays. Councilman Robert Abraham messaged Cleveland that "you had threatened litigation already," and so officials were reluctant to speak to her; Cleveland claims she wanted to solve the problem without legal action. She also made her request at a May 19 council meeting while speaking during public comments, but got no response from any council members or other officials.
"No one responded to (Cleveland), even though the meeting had included numerous exchanges between councilmembers and residents," the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit mentions Hammoud's controversial remarks last year in September 2025 to a Christian minister and resident, Ted Barnham, during a council meeting. After an outcry from some conservatives, Hammoud later said the city "embraces all." The city has also faced some criticism over the volume of the Islamic call to prayer from some mosques. Since Hammoud became mayor in January 2022, some on the right have attacked him and Shahin, who is also Muslim, for allegedly being intolerant of Christian evangelists, but the city has protected free speech during Hammoud's tenure, allowing two Quran-burnings in front of mosques and other anti-Islam protests. Dearborn police gave anti-Islam activist Jake Lang a police escort when he protested in June. In contrast, the city was more restrictive when the previous mayor and police chief were both Christian.
Dearborn has faced previous lawsuits over the years from right-wing Christians, who claim their rights were violated when in the city, the lawsuit mentions. In 2009, Pastor George Saeig of California filed a lawsuit alleging the city prevented him from distributing Christian literature at the Arab International Festival, a large outdoor gathering that was later canceled after Christian evangelists increasingly attending led to conflicts, lawsuits and costly insurance policies.
In 2010, Dearborn police arrested four Christian missionaries with an evangelical group, Acts 17 Apologetics, for allegedly disturbing the peace. They were jailed overnight and put on trial, but they were acquitted. They filed a lawsuit and won $300,000 from the city. In 2011, Pastor Terry Jones was briefly jailed after a trial over his plans to demonstrate in front of a mosque. And in 2012, a group of Christians with a group called Bible Believers, one of them carrying a pig's head on a pole, were asked to leave after some hurled objects at them. Bible Believers were represented by the same group representing Cleveland, American Freedom Law Center, which won their case in 2015 after an appeals court ruled in their favor.
Cleveland's case has been assigned to Judge Linda Parker.
Contact Niraj Warikoo: nwarikoo@freepress.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Catholic conservative sues Dearborn, alleging city favors Muslims
