Overview
- A federal lawsuit filed Thursday by the American Freedom Law Center on behalf of resident and journalist Margot Cleveland alleges Dearborn officials used taxpayer money and city property to promote Ramadan while denying comparable recognition to Christian and Jewish holidays.
- The complaint lists specific city-funded items as evidence, including Ramadan banners, crescent-shaped pole lights, a large lighted crescent in a public park, and Ramadan-themed police department T-shirts and says public records show about $1,500 spent on banners and $5,000 on the crescent display.
- Cleveland also alleges retaliation by Mayor Abdullah Hammoud and other city officials, saying she was repeatedly ignored after asking for equal treatment and that the mayor directed the city attorney to tell council members not to respond to her requests.
- The suit seeks a declaration of constitutional violations, an injunction to stop the challenged city practices, nominal damages, and attorneys’ fees and cites past court rulings and a prior settlement to argue a recurring pattern of unequal treatment.
- Dearborn’s status as a majority Arab/Middle Eastern city with visible Muslim institutions and recent tense public meetings frames the dispute and the case could prompt a federal ruling on how the Establishment, Free Exercise, Free Speech, and Equal Protection clauses apply to municipal recognition of religious observances.