2026-09-18T13:40:44-04:00 / 福克斯新闻网
民权诉讼称该市扩建斋月展示设施却无视平等待遇诉求
作者：伊莱恩·马隆 福克斯新闻网
发布于2026年9月18日 美国东部夏令时下午1:40
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“我们不是穆斯林国家”：黑人牧师谴责他认为是在实施伊斯兰教法的行为
洛伦佐·休厄尔牧师在密歇根州迪尔伯恩市挑战市议员，要求他们谴责穆斯林宗教法典。（图片来源：迪尔伯恩市）
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周四提起的一项联邦诉讼指控，迪尔伯恩市花费数千纳税人美元举办庆祝穆斯林节日的公共展示活动，却无视一名基督教居民多次提出的认可复活节和逾越节的请求。
《联邦党人》记者玛戈·克利夫兰与美国自由法律中心（AFLC）一同对迪尔伯恩市和民主党市长阿卜杜拉·哈穆德提起民权诉讼，称该市侵犯了她的第一和第十四修正案权利，包括宗教设立、言论自由和平等保护相关的保护条款。
“迪尔伯恩市动用纳税人资金为斋月点亮街道和公园，却对一名仅要求以同样方式对待复活节、逾越节及其他基督教和犹太教节日的居民置之不理，”美国自由法律中心联合创始人兼高级顾问罗伯特·J·缪伊斯在一份声明中表示。“这明显违反了《确立条款》，而我们的当事人为此发声后遭到的报复，进一步加剧了宪法层面的伤害。”
牧师痛斥迪尔伯恩市，宗教紧张在市议会会议上爆发：“够了就是够了”
阿卜杜拉·哈穆德，迪尔伯恩市市长，在2024年2月28日密歇根州总统初选次日，于密歇根州迪尔伯恩市举行的“倾听密歇根”竞选活动新闻发布会上发言。（图片来源：穆斯塔法·巴西姆/阿纳多卢通讯社通过盖蒂图片社）
迪尔伯恩拥有全美最大的阿拉伯裔社区之一。根据2020年人口普查，该市有109976名居民，其中54.5%的人报告拥有中东或北非血统。该市主要干道密歇根大道两侧遍布阿拉伯语招牌商铺和中东料理餐厅。根据在线名录显示，该市范围内共有十座清真寺。
哈穆德于2021年11月首次当选市长，成为首位领导迪尔伯恩市的穆斯林和阿拉伯裔美国人。
“这起案件尤其令人不安的是，市政府官员，包括市长本人，以沉默、阻挠和公然的敌意回应一名公民提出的平等对待的合理请求——包括市长亲口告诉一名基督教居民，他‘在这座城市不受欢迎’，”负责此案的律师戴维·耶路撒冷米表示。“我们的当事人只是要求市政府将基督徒和犹太人视为平等公民。”
克利夫兰的律师指出，哈穆德与基督教牧师泰德·巴哈姆在9月的一次交锋可作为该市对基督徒抱有敌意的证据。巴哈姆曾在市议会会议上对该市决定将一条街道命名为乌萨马·西布拉尼的举动提出质疑，后者是《阿拉伯美国人新闻》的出版商，曾发表过支持真主党的言论。
特朗普就职典礼牧师称迪尔伯恩基督徒“不敢”在穆斯林占多数的城市发声
泰德·巴哈姆，一名基督教牧师，于2025年9月23日在迪尔伯恩市议会会议上发言，此事距他与市长阿卜杜拉·哈穆德的冲突引发全国关注已过去数周。（图片来源：迪尔伯恩市）
在此次交锋中，哈穆德称巴哈姆为“偏执狂”和“伊斯兰恐惧症患者”。
“尽管你住在这里，但作为市长，我想让你知道，你在这座城市不受欢迎，”哈穆德对这位基督教牧师说。“你搬离这座城市的那一天，就是我举办游行庆祝你搬离的日子……因为你不是一个相信共存的人。”
但克利夫兰的诉讼称，2025年春天她看到全市各地悬挂着“斋月吉祥”横幅和大型新月造型装饰后，曾请求市政府也认可基督教和犹太教节日，但遭到市政府领导层无视。一份《信息自由法》申请显示，该市曾花费1500美元制作斋月横幅，5000美元用于新月造型展示。迪尔伯恩警察局还在售卖斋月主题T恤。
在给市政府的邮件中，克利夫兰表示她并不希望市政府停止庆祝穆斯林节日，只是希望基督教和犹太教的宗教节日也能得到同等认可。
“我更希望确保各信仰传统享有平等地位，而非挑战这些展示活动，”克利夫兰在一封邮件中写道。
马萨诸塞州高等法院阻止该市展示纪念急救人员的天主教圣徒雕像
2024年10月，迪尔伯恩市入口处的欢迎标识被拍下。（图片来源：查利·特里博洛/盖蒂图片社）
据称，市政府不仅无视克利夫兰的请求，还在2026年2月扩建了斋月展示设施，委托制作了新月和星星造型的灯饰，安装在全市市政路灯上。
“这项举措反映了我们这座城市的本质，”哈穆德在一份声明中说道。
克利夫兰与市政府官员之间的紧张关系在4月持续升级，克利夫兰称她被告知可以以居民身份参加社区会议，但不能以记者身份参与。诉讼还称，哈穆德对在社交媒体上批评市政府并借此牟利的居民发表了“嘲讽言论”。
该诉讼还声称，2026年2月，该市扩建了斋月展示设施，委托制作了新月和星星造型的灯饰，安装在全市市政路灯上。
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根据诉讼文件，克利夫兰对此回应称，她只是“一名忧心忡忡的居民，在要求市政府平等对待基督徒和犹太人时遭到了忽视”。
“尽管多次提出请求，他们还是将她视为外人，而非政治共同体的正式成员，”缪伊斯告诉福克斯新闻数字频道。
这起诉讼正值密歇根州备受关注的2026年美国参议院竞选期间，民主党候选人阿卜杜勒·赛义德——一名穆斯林，埃及移民之子——将与共和党候选人迈克·罗杰斯角逐该州开放的参议院席位。宗教和反犹太主义已成为此次竞选的争议点，共和党人和部分民主党人批评赛义德与主播哈桑·皮克尔交往过密，后者曾称美国“就死亡人数而言，比基地组织更糟糕”，同时辩称美军造成平民伤亡的军事行动可被视为恐怖主义行为。
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福克斯新闻数字频道已联系哈穆德的办公室和克利夫兰的律师置评。
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Swing state mayor sued as city’s Muslim holiday displays ignite religious-favoritism fight
2026-09-18T13:40:44-04:00 / Fox News
The civil rights suit claims the city expanded Ramadan displays while ignoring equal treatment requests
By Elaine Mallon Fox News
Published September 18, 2026 1:40pm EDT
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‘We are not a nation of Muslims’: Black pastor rails against what he believes is the implementation of Sharia law
Pastor Lorenzo Sewell challenges city councilmembers in Dearborn, Michigan to denounce Muslim religious code. (Credit: City of Dearborn)
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A federal lawsuit filed Thursday alleges the city of Dearborn spent thousands of taxpayer dollars on public displays celebrating Muslim holidays while ignoring a Christian resident’s repeated requests for Easter and Passover recognition.
Margot Cleveland, a journalist with The Federalist, filed a civil rights lawsuit with the American Freedom Law Center (AFLC) against the city of Dearborn and Democratic Mayor Abdullah Hammoud, alleging the city violated her First and Fourteenth Amendment rights, including protections involving religious establishment, free speech and equal protection.
“The City of Dearborn spent taxpayer money to light up its streets and parks for Ramadan while stonewalling a resident who simply asked that Easter, Passover, and other Christian and Jewish holy days be treated the same way,” Robert J. Muise, AFLC co-founder and senior counsel, said in a statement. “That is a straightforward Establishment Clause violation, and the retaliation our client faced for speaking up about it only compounds the constitutional harm.”
PASTOR UNLEASHES ON DEARBORN AS RELIGIOUS TENSIONS ERUPT AT CITY COUNCIL MEETING: ‘ENOUGH IS ENOUGH’
Abdullah Hammoud, mayor of Dearborn, speaks during a press conference held by Listen to Michigan campaign one day after the Michigan presidential primary in Dearborn, Michigan, on February 28, 2024.(Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Dearborn is home to one of the largest Arab American communities in the country. The city had 109,976 residents in the 2020 Census, and 54.5% reported Middle Eastern or North African ancestry. Michigan Avenue, the city’s main thoroughfare, is lined with businesses featuring Arabic-script signs and Middle Eastern cuisine. There are ten mosques within the city limits, according to an online directory.
Hammoud was first elected mayor in November 2021, becoming the first Muslim and Arab American to lead the city of Dearborn.
“What makes this case especially troubling is that City officials, up to and including the Mayor, responded to a citizen’s respectful request for equal treatment with silence, stonewalling, and outright hostility — including the Mayor’s own words telling a Christian resident he is ‘not welcome’ in his own city,” David Yerushalmi, an attorney on the case, said. “Our client is simply asking the City to treat Christians and Jews as equal citizens.”
Lawyers for Cleveland pointed to a September exchange between Hammoud and Christian pastor Ted Barham as evidence of what they allege is the city’s hostility toward Christians. Barham had raised concerns during a City Council meeting over the city’s decision to rename a street after Usama Siblani, publisher of The Arab American News, who has made statements expressing support for Hezbollah.
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Ted Barham, a Christian minister, speaks during the Dearborn City Council meeting on Sept. 23, 2025, weeks after his clash with Mayor Abdullah Hammoud drew national attention.(City of Dearborn)
In the exchange, Hammoud called Barham a “bigot” and an “Islamophobe.”
“And although you live here, I want you to know as mayor, you are not welcome here,” Hammoud told the Christian pastor. “And 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… because you are not somebody who believes in coexistence.”
But Cleveland’s lawsuit alleges that city leaders ignored her requests for the city to also recognize Christian and Jewish holidays after she began seeing “Ramadan Kareem” banners and large crescent moons displayed across the city in spring 2025. A FOIA request revealed that the city had spent $1,500 on Ramadan banners and $5,000 on the crescent-moon display. The Dearborn Police Department was also selling Ramadan-themed T-shirts.
In emails to the city, Cleveland said she did not want the city to stop celebrating Muslim holidays but wanted equal recognition for Christian and Jewish holy days.
“I much prefer to ensure equality of faith traditions, as opposed to a challenge to the display,” Cleveland wrote in an email.
MASSACHUSETTS HIGH COURT BLOCKS CITY FROM DISPLAYING CATHOLIC SAINT STATUES HONORING FIRST RESPONDERS
The welcome sign for the city of Dearborn is pictured at the city’s entrance in October 2024.(Charly Triballeau/Getty Images)
Not only did the city allegedly ignore Cleveland’s requests, but in February 2026, it expanded its Ramadan displays, commissioning crescent-and-star lights that were displayed on municipal streetlights across the city.
“This initiative reflects who we are as a city,” Hammoud said in a statement.
Tensions between Cleveland and city officials continued in April, when Cleveland alleges she was told she could attend a community meeting as a resident but not as a journalist. The lawsuit also alleges Hammoud made what it describes as a “snide comment” about residents who criticize the city on social media to monetize their posts.
The lawsuit also alleges that in February 2026, the city expanded its Ramadan displays, commissioning crescent-and-star lights for municipal streetlights across the city.
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Cleveland pushed back, according to the lawsuit, saying she was simply “a concerned resident who was ignored when I asked for the City to treat Christians and Jews equally.”
“Despite the repeated requests, they treated her as if she were an outsider and not a full member of the political community,” Muise told Fox News Digital.
The lawsuit comes during Michigan’s closely watched 2026 U.S. Senate race, with Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed, who is Muslim and the son of Egyptian immigrants, facing Republican nominee Mike Rogers for the state’s open Senate seat. Religion and antisemitism have become points of dispute in the race, with Republicans and some Democrats criticizing El-Sayed over his association with streamer Hasan Piker, who said the U.S. was worse than al Qaeda “pound for pound, as far as the number of deaths,” while arguing that U.S. military actions that kill civilians can amount to acts of terror.
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At the same time, El-Sayed and his supporters have accused opponents of targeting him with anti-Muslim rhetoric.
Fox News Digital reached out to Hammoud’s office and Cleveland’s attorneys for comment.
Elaine Mallon is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business covering national politics.
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6403774710112
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