{"id":2663236,"date":"2026-09-17T09:38:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T13:38:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignlaw-firm-sues-dearborn-mich-for-discrimination-in-favor-of-islam\/"},"modified":"2026-09-17T09:39:45","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T13:39:45","slug":"utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignlaw-firm-sues-dearborn-mich-for-discrimination-in-favor-of-islam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignlaw-firm-sues-dearborn-mich-for-discrimination-in-favor-of-islam\/","title":{"rendered":"Resident Sues Dearborn, MI For Discrimination Favoring Islam"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Futm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignlaw-firm-sues-dearborn-mich-for-discrimination-in-favor-of-islam%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2663236&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A lawsuit has been filed against Dearborn, Michigan, alleging that city officials have unlawfully promoted Islam while discriminating against Christianity and Judaism. Teh American Freedom Law Center (AFLC) represents resident Margot Cleveland, asserting that the city used public funds for Islamic holidays-such as Ramadan-by installing banners, lights, and police T-shirts, but did not do the same for other religions\u2019 holidays like Easter or Passover. Cleveland emphasizes the need for equal treatment of all faiths rather than the suppression of any religious expression. The lawsuit also highlights a pattern of favoritism towards Islam in Dearborn, including past legal rulings favoring Christian free speech rights and city actions that seemingly discriminate against other religions. The city\u2019s political and social environment is characterized by a meaningful Muslim population, with prominent figures and policies reflecting this demographic shift. Controversies include Mayor abdullah Hammoud\u2019s comments labeling a Christian pastor a \u201cbigot\u201d and \u201cislamophobe\u201d after opposing a street renaming honoring a supporter of Hamas and Hezbollah. Dearborn\u2019s history of religious and ethnic shifts, along with its increasing Muslim-majority population, has been accompanied by allegations of preferential treatment towards Islam, as reflected in public celebrations and policies. The lawsuit seeks legal remedies including declarations of rights violations, injunctions, damages, and fees, asserting that Dearborn\u2019s actions breach constitutional protections of religious equality amid a broader context of immigration and demographic changes influencing the region.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>A public interest law firm filed a lawsuit today against the city of Dearborn, Michigan, for allegedly establishing Islam as a religion in violation of the U.S. Constitution and civil rights laws. The American Freedom Law Center is pursuing the suit on behalf of Dearborn resident and <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/margotcleveland\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Federalist Senior Legal Correspondent Margot Cleveland<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe lawsuit alleges that City officials spent public funds and used City property to promote and celebrate the Islamic holy month of Ramadan while refusing Cleveland\u2019s repeated requests that the City extend the same recognition to Christian and Jewish holidays \u2014 and that Mayor [Abdullah] Hammoud and other City officials retaliated against Cleveland for speaking out about the disparity,\u201d says <a href=\"https:\/\/www.americanfreedomlawcenter.org\/press-release\/breaking-lawsuit-filed-against-city-of-dearborn-and-mayor-for-promoting-islam-while-discriminating-against-christians-and-jews\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">an AFLC press release<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.americanfreedomlawcenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Complaint-Cleveland-v-City-of-Dearborn-Filed.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">complaint <\/a>filed Thursday alleges that the city of Dearborn has spent public funds for years to commemorate Islamic holidays but not the holidays of other religions such as Christianity and Judaism. It says AFLC and Cleveland have made numerous requests, by email and at city council meetings, that the city give equal treatment to religions with public funds and avoid a lawsuit. City officials not only failed to respond, the complaint says, but Hammoud directed the city attorney to tell city council members not to respond.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t have a problem with people of faith exercising their deeply held beliefs,\u201d Cleveland said in a phone call Wednesday. \u201cI have a problem with people supporting or excusing terrorism and antisemitism and establishing a religion and discriminating against people of other faiths.\u201d She emphasized that she is not seeking the removal of Islamic religious expression but asking the city to comply with its constitutional obligations to treat all religious expression equally.<\/p>\n<p>Michigan Senate candidate and fellow Muslim Abdul El-Sayed <a href=\"https:\/\/arabamericannews.com\/2021\/04\/15\/abdul-el-sayed-endorses-abdullah-hammoud-for-dearborn-mayor\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">endorsed <\/a>Hammoud\u2019s campaign for mayor in 2021, and Hammoud in turn is an El-Sayed <a href=\"https:\/\/arabamericannews.com\/2025\/07\/05\/abdul-el-sayed-raises-funds-and-hopes-in-dearborn-for-2026-u-s-senate-run-in-michigan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">supporter <\/a>and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2018\/08\/07\/politics\/michigan-democratic-primary-abdul-el-sayed-gretchen-whitmer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">donor<\/a>. El-Sayed has also <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/09\/10\/democrats-give-a-warm-welcome-to-the-hasan-piker-faction-in-their-party\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">embraced <\/a>prominent supporters of Islamist terrorism.<\/p>\n<p>Mahmoud and his chief of staff, Zaineb Hussein, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday morning. If the city replies, this article will be updated accordingly.<\/p>\n<p>The complaint says Dearborn used public funds to pay for banners on public property celebrating Ramadan, crescent lights on city light poles for Ramadan the next year, a large, lighted crescent moon to celebrate Ramadan in a public park, and police department T-shirts to commemorate Ramadan. The complaint alleges the city has taken no comparable actions to celebrate the holidays of other faiths, such as Easter or Passover.<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>\n<div>\n<p>Images of Dearborn Police Department\u2019s Ramadan T-shirts, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.americanfreedomlawcenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Complaint-Cleveland-v-City-of-Dearborn-Filed.pdf\">from the complaint<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Last year, Hammoud made international headlines for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theblaze.com\/shows\/sara-gonzales-unfiltered\/youre-not-welcome-here-muslim-mayor-to-christian-american\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">telling a constituent<\/a>, a Christian pastor, that he was a \u201cbigot\u201d and \u201cIslamophobe\u201d for objecting to Dearborn renaming a street after Osama Siblani, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/archive\/politics\/2003\/05\/08\/fbi-focus-increases-on-hamas-hezbollah\/55fdfaf0-d16c-40bd-9ffd-0326580e6eab\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">longtime <\/a>public <a href=\"https:\/\/www.adl.org\/resources\/profile\/osama-siblani-arab-american-news\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">supporter<\/a> of the U.S.-designated Islamist terrorist organizations Hezbollah and Hamas, which have murdered Americans out of religious and nationalist hatred.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlthough you live here, I want you to know as mayor, you are not welcome here,\u201d Hammoud responded, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theblaze.com\/shows\/sara-gonzales-unfiltered\/youre-not-welcome-here-muslim-mayor-to-christian-american\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">according to video<\/a> of the public meeting. \u201cAnd the day you move out of the city will be the day that I launch a parade celebrating the fact that you moved out of the city.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hammoud <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fox2detroit.com\/news\/dearborn-mayor-breaks-silence-doesnt-apologize-christian-minister-he-called-racist\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">refused <\/a>to apologize for the verbal attack, and the pastor, Ted Barham, declined to sue for discrimination despite what he said was encouragement from supporters all over the world. The complaint notes Hammoud later attended a ceremony celebrating the renaming of the Dearborn street after Siblani, editor-in-chief of the Dearborn-based Arab American News.<\/p>\n<p>In 2024, Siblani <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jns.org\/opinion\/daniel-greenfield\/michigan-muslims-take-biden-hostage-to-save-hamas\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">claimed<\/a>, \u201cWe are the Arabs that are going to lift Palestinians all the way to victory, whether we are in Michigan, and whether we are in Jenin. Believe me, everyone should fight within his means. They will fight with stones. Others will fight with guns. Others will fight with planes, drones. And others will fight with rockets. And others will fight in their voice.\u201d Siblani was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.crainsdetroit.com\/article\/20130419\/NEWS\/130419790\/arab-american-news-founder-siblani-a-michigan-journalism-hall-of\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">inducted <\/a>into the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame in 2013.<\/p>\n<p>A few months after the street was renamed, one of the city\u2019s Muslim council members, Kamal Alsawafy, <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/11\/12\/weeks-after-foiled-michigan-terror-attack-dearborn-councilman-wont-criticize-hezbollah-or-hamas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">refused <\/a>to condemn Hezbollah or Hamas when Cleveland found him at her polling place and asked. This was days after the FBI <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wxyz.com\/news\/3rd-dearborn-man-arrested-in-connection-with-alleged-halloween-terror-plot\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">stopped <\/a>three Dearborn residents \u2014 Ayob Nasser, Mohmed Ali, and Majed Mahmoud \u2014 from making an alleged terrorist attack at an Ohio amusement park.<\/p>\n<p>The AFLC complaint says federal courts have recognized a pattern of Dearborn preferencing Islam over other religions, in violation of U.S. law. In 2011, the 6th Circuit ruled that Dearborn violated free speech and religious exercise by banning a pastor from sharing Christian pamphlets at the city\u2019s Arab festival.<\/p>\n<p>In 2013, the city paid $300,000 to resolve similar claims after police arrested Christians for talking about Jesus at the same festival. In 2015, the 6th Circuit again ruled that local government had unlawfully removed Christians from preaching to a \u201chostile\u201d crowd at the Arab festival, violating their freedom of speech. In that case the surrounding county <a href=\"https:\/\/www.americanfreedomlawcenter.org\/press-release\/judgment-entered-against-wayne-county-sheriffs-for-violating-christians-free-speech-rights\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">paid<\/a> $200,000 in attorneys\u2019 fees to AFLC for enforcing what the <em>en banc <\/em>court judged was an impermissible heckler\u2019s veto.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDespite these legal defeats, nothing has changed in the City,\u201d the complaint says.<\/p>\n<p>Cleveland and AFLC seek \u201ca declaration that Defendants violated her clearly established constitutional rights as set forth in this Complaint; an injunction enjoining Defendants\u2019 acts, customs, policies, practices, and procedures that favor Muslims and discriminate against Christians and Jews as set forth in this Complaint; nominal damages; and an award of costs and attorneys\u2019 fees,\u201d the complaint says.<\/p>\n<p>Dearborn, a Detroit suburb, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.meforum.org\/fwi\/fwi-research\/the-new-jim-crow-in-dearborn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">became the first majority-Arab<\/a> U.S. city <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/travel\/article\/20240429-dearborn-michigan-a-visit-to-the-first-arab-majority-city-in-the-us\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">in 2023<\/a> and currently boasts the largest mosque in America. While the city <a href=\"https:\/\/crcmich.org\/eliminate-partisan-election-of-township-and-county-officers-to-improve-confidence-in-government\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">hides political affiliations<\/a> by marking local races \u201cnonpartisan,\u201d all of the current city council members and Hammoud have Democrat affiliations in voter registrations, party endorsements, or public declarations. Three of the seven current city council members and the mayor are publicly declared Muslims.<\/p>\n<p>The Ford Motor Company moved its headquarters to Dearborn in the 1920s and hired many Middle Eastern Christians who moved to the area as refugees. Chain migration policies passed in the 1960s, combined with U.S. wars in the Middle East, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michiganpublic.org\/arts-culture\/2014-07-09\/what-explains-michigans-large-arab-american-community\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">displaced <\/a>the Arab Christians with Muslims yet again, this time in the United States.<\/p>\n<p>Several nearby Detroit suburbs feature a similar religious dynamic, with Hamtramck perhaps the most notorious. That town of 28,000 became Muslim-majority in 2013 and elected the first all-Muslim city council and mayor\u2019s office in the United States in 2021. <\/p>\n<p>According to the AFLC complaint, Cleveland attended an April public meeting in which Dearborn officials stated they would not cooperate with federal immigration law enforcement efforts. According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Invisible-Coup-American-Foreign-Immigration-ebook\/dp\/B0FGDL1HYH\/?_encoding=UTF8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reporting from Peter Schweizer<\/a>, President Joe Biden erased immigration regulations to surge the number of virtually unvetted citizenship and visa approvals during his presidency, as did presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.<\/p>\n<p>Schweizer and others, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Reflections-Revolution-Europe-Immigration-Islam\/dp\/0385518269\/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&#038;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">including <\/a>scholar Christopher Caldwell, note that many globally prominent Islamic leaders, such as those of the Muslim Brotherhood, instruct Muslims to enter Western countries and have large families as a form of covert religious demographic warfare. Some also encourage lying to non-Muslims about their actions and intentions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBy 2040, Muslims are projected to become the second largest religious group in the US, after Christians,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-us-canada-59212355\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">says the BBC<\/a>.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Joy Pullmann is executive editor of The Federalist and the researcher and host for The Federalist&#8217;s forthcoming lawfare podcast series, &#8220;Overruled.&#8221; Her latest book with Regnery is &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/p\/books\/false-colors-the-flag-of-our-occupation-joy-pullmann\/20707173?ean=9781684515875\">False Flag: Why Queer Politics Mean the End of America<\/a>.&#8221;  A happy wife and the mother of six children, her ebooks include the NEW &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/payhip.com\/b\/ZT5Wd\" target=\"_blank\">300 Classic Books for Ages 9 to Adult<\/a>,&#8221; and the bestselling &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/payhip.com\/b\/R1JL\">Classic Books For Young Children<\/a>.&#8221;      An 20-year education and politics reporter, Joy has testified before nearly two dozen legislatures on education policy and appeared on major media including Tucker Carlson, CNN, Fox News, OANN, NewsMax, Ben Shapiro, and Dennis Prager. Joy is a grateful graduate of the Hillsdale College honors and journalism programs who identifies as native American and gender natural. Joy is also the cofounder of a high-performing Christian classical school and the author and coauthor of classical curricula.    Her traditionally published books also include &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Education-Invasion-Parents-Control-American\/dp\/1594038813\/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&#038;qid=1486730068&#038;sr=8-1&#038;keywords=education+invasion\">The Education Invasion: How Common Core Fights Parents for Control of American Kids<\/a>,&#8221; from Encounter Books.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lawsuit Challenges Dearborn&#8217;s Favoring of Islam Over Others<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":519,"featured_media":2663237,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Dearborn-police.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[44148,5102,36930,26161,4585],"class_list":["post-2663236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-dearborn","tag-discrimination","tag-human-rights","tag-islam","tag-lawsuit"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Dearborn-police.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2663236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/519"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2663236"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2663236\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2663239,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2663236\/revisions\/2663239"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2663237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2663236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2663236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2663236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}