At a Dearborn City Council assembly last week, Mayor Abdullah H. Hammoud informed local resident Edward “Ted” Barham, a Christian, that he was “not welcome” in the city after Barham expressed concerns about new street signs honoring Arab American News publisher Osama Siblani.
FOX 2 Detroit clarified that the signs honoring Siblani were installed at intersections on Warren Avenue by Wayne County, not the City of Dearborn. However, the mayor intensified the discussion, telling Barham, “Although you live here, you are not welcome here.”
Barham introduced himself as “Ted Barham, Dearborn resident,” and objected to two intersections being renamed after Siblani.
He stated, “He’s a promoter of Hezbollah and Hamas” before quoting previous remarks from Siblani, including, “He talks about how the blood of the martyrs irrigates the land of Palestine … whether we are in Michigan and whether we are in Yemen. Believe me, everyone should fight within his means. They will fight with stones, others will fight with guns, others fight with planes, drones, and rockets.”
Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud speaks during a City Council meeting in Dearborn, Mich., on Sept. 9, 2025. (City of Dearborn)
Mayor Hammoud’s subsequent remarks surprised many attendees. “The best suggestion I have for you is to not drive on Warren Avenue or to close your eyes while you’re doing it. His name is up there and I spoke at a ceremony celebrating it because he’s done a lot for this community,” Hammoud asserted.
He further accused Barham of being “a bigot, and you are racist, and you’re an Islamophobe,” and then declared: “Although you live here, I want you to know as mayor, you are not welcome here. 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 this city.”
Muslim voters cast ballots at a polling site in Dearborn, Mich., on November 5, 2024. (Adam James Dewey/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Fox News Digital attempted to contact Mayor Hammoud’s office and Siblani for a response but did not receive one by the time of publication. Efforts to reach Ted Barham by phone were also unsuccessful.
Dearborn, the city with America’s highest-percentage Muslim population, has long navigated debate over cultural and political identity. For many average residents, the moment captured in City Hall begged the question of whether elected officials are willing to listen to all voices or only those they choose to celebrate.
