Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud told a white resident he was "not welcome" in the majority-Muslim Michigan city after the man criticized an honorary road sign recognizing Arab American News founder Osama Siblani.
Edward "Ted" Barham addressed a City Council meeting to protest a symbolic sign placed earlier this month by the Wayne County government at an intersection honoring Siblani for founding the bilingual Arab American News. Barham called the sign "provocative," accused Siblani of supporting Hezbollah and Hamas and read excerpts of remarks Siblani made at a Nakba Day rally in 2022 that Barham said incited violence.
Council members told Barham the sign had been approved by the Wayne County Commission and was not under the city council's jurisdiction. Council President Michael T. Sareini and other local officials have publicly supported the honorary designation, which was unveiled at a ceremony marking the 41st anniversary of the Arab American News.
Barham told the council he valued Siblani's work for the Arab-American community but said he could not support an honor for someone who, in his view, had praised violent conduct. "I feel like having that sign up there is almost like naming a street Hezbollah Street or Hamas Street," Barham said at the meeting. He also said, "As a Christian, I would like to encourage peace," and made a reference to Jewish responsibility for the death of Jesus while calling for intercommunal peace.
Mayor Hammoud sharply rebuked Barham, accusing him of prior public statements against Muslims and calling him a "bigot," "racist" and an "Islamophobe." Hammoud told Barham, "Although you live here, I want you to know that as mayor, you are not welcome here," and said the day Barham left the city he would "launch a parade celebrating the fact that you moved out of this city." The exchange was recorded at the council meeting.
Council members rejected Barham's characterization of Siblani as violent. At the meeting they suggested that if the sign bothered Barham, he could avoid driving through the intersection. Barham responded that he had raised the issue as a Dearborn resident and wanted his concerns on the record; an attempt by Barham to respond to the mayor's accusations was inaudible on the council recording.
Siblani, who emigrated from Lebanon and launched the Arab American News in 1984, spoke to a local Fox affiliate about the controversy, calling it "sad that we do not respect each other's differences" and saying he was proud of his heritage and his American story. At the unveiling, several county and city officials, including Sareini and Hammoud, praised Siblani's decades of journalism and community advocacy. Hammoud called him "the voice of this community" and praised his work pushing Arab-American narratives into mainstream media.
Siblani has long been a polarizing figure. Organizations including the Anti-Defamation League have cited remarks they describe as sympathetic to Hamas, Hezbollah and other militant groups. In 2023, Siblani spoke at a rally at the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center and said, according to local reports, "Hamas is not a terrorist organization," adding that he considered Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government to be the terrorists. He also met with White House officials last year to discuss Israel's occupation of Gaza, according to local reporting.
Wayne County officials characterized the roadway designation as honorary and said the sign recognized Siblani's contributions to journalism and the Arab-American community in Dearborn. The county held a ceremony to unveil the sign and mark the Arab American News anniversary. Council President Sareini, speaking at the ceremony, recounted his personal familiarity with Siblani's work and defended the decision to honor him.
The dispute highlights tensions in Dearborn, which is home to a large Arab-American and Muslim population and has long been a focal point for discussions over free expression, community recognition and responses to the Israel-Hamas conflict. Local leaders and organizations are divided over how to balance honoring local figures with concerns about past statements that some consider supportive of militant groups.
Daily Mail, which first reported details of the meeting and the mayor's remarks, said it reached out to Siblani and the mayor's office for further comment. The city of Dearborn and Wayne County have not issued additional statements beyond the comments made at the council meeting and at the unveiling ceremony.