Dearborn favored Muslims over Jews, Christians, lawsuit alleges

A lawsuit filed against the city of Dearborn, Michigan, alleges that Mayor Abdullah Hammoud and the city government favored Muslims over Jews and Christians by promoting Ramadan but not holidays of other faiths. Resident Margot Cleveland filed the suit after observing city displays for Ramadan, including banners and a large crescent moon, while no similar signage was present for Christian or Jewish holidays like Lent, Easter, or Passover. Cleveland claims her attempts to have the city recognize other holidays were ignored, and the mayor subsequently purchased more Ramadan decorations. The lawsuit, filed by the American Freedom Law Center, asserts violations of the First and Fourteenth Amendments, citing the city's expenditure of taxpayer money on Ramadan displays and the mayor's use of official channels to promote Muslim events. Cleveland stated, "I did everything I could to not make a federal case out of this, and the mayor instead escalated and retaliated." The suit also references alleged anti-Christian bias from the mayor and his differing responses to anti-American and anti-Israel chants at a rally compared to his rebuke of a pastor.