Margot Cleveland, Senior Legal Correspondent at The Federalist, is suing the city of Dearborn, Michigan and the city’s mayor, Abdullah Hammoud, for violating the First Amendment by displaying exclusively Muslim symbols in public displays, accusing the city of being "a hostile place for Christians and Jews."
Cleveland alleges the city put up banners celebrating the Islamic holiday of Ramadan and a display of crescent moons while refusing to showcase equivalent Christian or Jewish iconography.
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city → sue → iconography
"I was picking up pizza in downtown Dearborn.
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I → pick → Dearborn
When I went down the boulevard, up and down the street were ‘Ramadan Kareem’ (generous Ramadan) banners, which is the equivalent of a happy or blessed Ramadan," Cleveland told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview.
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Cleveland → go → interview
We had Easter coming up in two weeks, and Passover was a week away.
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Passover → have → weeks
I was shocked, and then I saw the display all by itself—again, the crescent moon
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I → shock → itself
," she said.
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she → say → ?
Cleveland wrote to Dearborn’s city attorney, asking if the city planned to reciprocate the displays for the other Abrahamic faiths, but did not get a response, she told Fox News Digital.
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she → write → Digital
Cleveland submitted a series of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to find out the cost of the displays, which, according to her lawsuit and in an interview with Fox News Digital, is where she allegedly learned that the city had also integrated Islamic iconography in other official capacities.
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city → submit → capacities
"The police department was selling — with the police department's seal — Ramadan t-shirts.
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department → sell → shirts
It had the police department seal and a crescent moon, and I believe it said Ramadan," " Cleveland said.
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Cleveland → have → Ramadan
The Dearborn Police Department did not respond to a Fox News Digital inquiry regarding the alleged t-shirts.
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Department → respond → shirts
After repeated attempts to try and contact city officials, Cleveland still received no response, until one city councilor told her that the council had been instructed not to engage with her.
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council → repeat → her
"I reached out to city council, every individual, both their public email and a secondary one.
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I → reach → email
Received no response," she shared.
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she → receive → response
"But on LinkedIn, one of the council members responded and said, ‘Hey, we were told we can't talk to you,’" Cleveland told Fox News Digital.
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Cleveland → respond → Digital
Cleveland then attended an open city council meeting in May.
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Cleveland → attend → May
She asked that the councilors, who she explained control the city’s purse strings, use an ongoing budget surplus to purchase banners celebrating Jewish and Christian holidays.
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she → ask → holidays
"I have not asked the city not to celebrate Ramadan," she said.
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she → ask → Ramadan
"What I've asked is that the city treat Christians and Jews equally.
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city → ask → Christians
And throw in some patriotic symbols to show we are one Dearborn, one country where all faiths are represented equally.
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faiths → throw → symbols
That has not been done," she said.
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she → do → ?
Contrary to acceding to her requests, Cleveland claims the city put up even more decorations celebrating Ramadan in the wake of her attempts to contact city officials.
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city → accede → officials
"After I was ignored, what happened?
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what → ignore → ?
The mayor then went and bought more Ramadan displays.
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mayor → go → displays
I complained about the banners.
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I → complain → banners
What does he go?
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he → go → What
He goes bigger and brighter with lighted Ramadan displays," she said.
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she → go → displays
The mayor’s office did not respond to a Fox News request for comment.
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office → respond → comment
"People who are not in Dearborn do not understand Dearborn," Cleveland said.
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Cleveland → understand → Dearborn
"My beef is with the mayor and the people running the city who are discriminating against Christians and Jews.
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who → run → Christians
The average people who live in Dearborn get along great.
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who → live → Dearborn
It is a diverse city and people get along.
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people → get → ?
The mayor is causing a problem."
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mayor → cause → problem
The city rejected Cleveland's accusations in a statement released shortly after Cleveland's lawsuit.
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city → reject → lawsuit
Dearborn "has a longstanding commitment to serving all residents fairly and equitably, regardless of faith or background," the statement read.
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statement → have → faith
"Dearborn will continue to uphold the rights and dignity of every resident and remain a city where everyone is treated with fairness, respect, and equal protection under the law" the statement continued.
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statement → continue → law
The American Freedom Law Center filed the civil complaint on behalf of Cleveland in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan on Sept. 17.
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Center → file → Sept.
Dearborn’s city attorney did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for additional comments.
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attorney → respond → comments
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Press → contribute → report
The Aporia
