Dearborn Ramadan display lawsuit: what it claims and where it stands

DEARBORN, Mich. — A federal lawsuit accusing the City of Dearborn and Mayor Abdullah Hammoud of favoring one religion in the city’s public holiday displays drew new attention Friday, when a coalition that includes Muslims, former Muslims, Christians and Jews said it backs the case.

The suit was filed Sept. 17 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan by Margot Cleveland, a Dearborn resident and senior legal correspondent for The Federalist. She is represented by the American Freedom Law Center. The city has denied treating anyone unfairly. The claims below are allegations that have not been tested in court.

What the lawsuit says. According to the complaint and the law center’s announcement, the city put up “Ramadan Kareem” banners and a large lighted crescent moon on public property in April 2025, while no comparable recognition was given to Lent, Passover or Easter. Cleveland says a public-records request showed the city spent public money on those displays and that the Dearborn Police Department made and sold Ramadan-themed shirts bearing its official emblem. An April 6, 2025, email she sent the city attorney asking whether Easter and Passover would get equal recognition went unanswered, the complaint says.

The suit says that in February 2026 the city added crescent-moon-and-star lights to municipal streetlights for Ramadan, with the mayor quoted as saying the display “reflects who we are as a city,” but has never sponsored a comparable display for a Christian or Jewish observance.

The retaliation claim. Cleveland says that after she raised the issue at City Council meetings and emailed each council member, the city attorney, at the mayor’s direction, told council members not to talk with her because she had a lawyer, even after her attorneys said in writing that they could. The council later passed its budget without money for Easter or Passover banners or a menorah, despite a surplus, the complaint says.

The complaint also cites remarks the mayor made at a Sept. 9, 2025, council meeting to a Christian pastor who had objected to a street renaming: “Although you live here, I want you to know as mayor, you are not welcome here.” Fox News reported that the mayor declined to apologize for those remarks at a later meeting.

What the city says. In a statement after the suit was filed, the city said it “has a longstanding commitment to serving all residents fairly and equitably, regardless of faith or background” and will “remain a city where everyone is treated with fairness, respect, and equal protection under the law,” Fox News reported.

What she is asking for. The suit makes three claims: retaliation for protected speech under the First Amendment, a violation of the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause and a violation of the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause. It asks for a court declaration, a permanent order barring the city from favoring one faith, nominal damages and attorney fees. Cleveland told Fox News she has not asked the city to stop recognizing Ramadan. “What I’ve asked is that the city treat Christians and Jews equally,” she said.

Where the case stands. The public docket summary we reviewed Friday listed the complaint and the summonses issued Sept. 17, with Judge Linda V. Parker and Magistrate Judge Curtis Ivy assigned. It did not yet show a formal answer from the city; later filings may not appear in that summary right away.

Not the city’s first church-and-state fight. The complaint points to earlier cases involving Dearborn, including a 2011 federal appeals ruling that struck down limits on a Christian pastor handing out literature at the city’s Arab festival, and a settlement in which, the complaint says, the city apologized and paid $300,000 over the arrests of Christian evangelists at the same festival.

In a Federalist opinion column Friday, Zuhdi Jasser, a Muslim writer, said the CLARITy Coalition supports the challenge. “Christians and Jews and all people of conscience in Dearborn should not need a federal judge to be welcome in their own city,” he wrote.

What it means for Dearborn. At its core the case is about how a city spends public money on holiday displays and whether it treats every faith alike. With Christmas and Hanukkah weeks away, residents may get an early answer of sorts: we found no city announcement yet on displays for those holidays. The court case itself is likely to take months.

Sources:
American Freedom Law Center, “Lawsuit Filed against City of Dearborn and Mayor,” Sept. 17, 2026 (filing date, allegations, claims, relief sought, prior cases), https://www.americanfreedomlawcenter.org/press-release/breaking-lawsuit-filed-against-city-of-dearborn-and-mayor-for-promoting-islam-while-discriminating-against-christians-and-jews/
Complaint, Cleveland v. City of Dearborn, U.S. District Court, E.D. Mich. (allegations, quotes), https://www.americanfreedomlawcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Complaint-Cleveland-v-City-of-Dearborn-Filed.pdf
Justia Dockets, Cleveland v. Dearborn et al, No. 2:2026cv13519 (docket entries, judges), https://dockets.justia.com/docket/michigan/miedce/2:2026cv13519/398165
Fox News, “Federalist writer sues Dearborn over Ramadan-only public displays,” Oct. 8, 2026 (city statement, Cleveland quotes, mayor’s later meeting), https://www.foxnews.com/politics/lawsuit-accuses-dearborn-michigan-hostile-christians-jews-islamic-displays
The Federalist, Zuhdi Jasser, opinion, Oct. 23, 2026 (coalition support, quote), https://thefederalist.com/2026/10/23/muslim-group-supports-lawsuit-against-dearborn-mich-for-discriminating-against-christians-and-jews/
Photo: Dwight Burdette, “Dearborn, Michigan City Hall.JPG,” March 26, 2013, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/), cropped and color-adjusted, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dearborn,_Michigan_City_Hall.JPG

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Tags: Dearborn · Lawsuit · Religious Liberty · First Amendment · City Hall · Mayor Abdullah Hammoud