Dearborn Defends Against Accusations of Favoring Muslim Holidays
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Dearborn Defends Against Accusations of Favoring Muslim Holidays
- The city of Dearborn, Michigan, is facing a federal lawsuit alleging it has spent thousands of dollars to celebrate Muslim holidays while neglecting Christian and Jewish observances.
- The lawsuit, filed on Thursday, September 17, 2026, by journalist Margot Cleveland, also revived complaints from September 2025 involving Mayor Abdullah Hammoud and local pastor Ted Barham.
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Dearborn, Michigan, is currently defending itself against a federal lawsuit that claims the city favors Muslim holidays over those of other faiths. The lawsuit, filed on Thursday, September 17, 2026, by journalist Margot Cleveland, alleges that the city and Mayor Abdullah Hammoud have spent public funds on Muslim holiday celebrations while ignoring Christian and Jewish holidays. For example, the lawsuit states that in 2025, Dearborn spent $1,500 on Ramadan banners and $5,000 on a crescent-moon display in a city park, with no comparable recognition for Easter or Passover.
The city, which has a population of over 100,000 and is majority Arab American, issued a statement on Saturday, September 19, 2026, asserting its commitment to serving all residents fairly, regardless of faith. The statement attributed the accusations to “attacks against its welcoming nature and diversity.”
This lawsuit also brings renewed attention to previous complaints. A year prior, in September 2025, Mayor Hammoud had a public disagreement with local pastor Ted Barham at a City Council meeting. This incident, which reportedly stemmed from Barham’s criticism of the city, led to a rally in Dearborn in November 2025. In a November 2025 article, Mayor Hammoud stated that people often misinterpret his frustrations with “bad faith actors” as hostility towards an entire faith. Dearborn became the first Arab-majority city in the U.S. in 2023, with approximately 55% of its residents identifying as Arab American.