Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud urged Muslims to vote as a block—5 years later city's leaders are ALL Muslim

A resurfaced video going viral on social media shows Dearborn, Michigan, Mayor Abdullah Hammoud urging Muslim and Arab residents to vote as a block to determine every elected position in the city. In the five years since his comments were made, Dearborn has continued to be influenced by Muslim leaders as the Arab population grows with the mayor and top city council positions all filled by Muslim men. 

Hammoud made the remarks at a mosque while campaigning ahead of the mayoral primary in 2021. He encouraged members of the Muslim community to unite behind candidates from their community and turn out to vote, arguing that doing so would allow them to shape the city’s policy decisions. 

“Election season, well, is here every single week and every single month with the community ready to take action. And that's what we're wanting to do, to take action,” he told them. “To build a team with this community that will take office and inshallah enact decisions and take stances that will prove beneficial, and make the lives of our families better. To keep our children here in the city in order for us to grow in this city.”

“I will be honest with you: there are many from our community who are running who are Arab and who are Muslim, and that's great,” he continued. “That means that there are many from our community who are now qualified as we mature here in America. And I will be the first to say if I do not make it in August, I will be the first to support the member from our community who does. And that's what we need. We need to come together and unify. And we have many people running for city council who we need to support from our community.”

“But that only happens if we go out and we vote,” he added. “If the Muslim community votes, if the Arab community votes, we will determine every single position in the whole city. It is that important. We need six thousand votes to determine who will be the next mayor. Six thousand votes. There are several hundred in this room right now. And so inshallah, with your support, we will be successful.”

Hammoud ultimately won the mayoral election, becoming Dearborn’s first Arab American and Muslim mayor. He won reelection in 2025 with an overwhelming majority. Of the city’s seven-member city council, four are of Middle Eastern descent. 

As of 2026, there are no women on the city council for the first time since 1947.

Since Hammud took office, Dearborn has drawn national attention over city policies and public disputes aimed at bolstering the Muslim community over other residents. City officials have supported accommodations for Muslim observances, including paid holidays for city employees. Ramadan-related displays have been funded by the city as well. 

Mosques in Dearborn have continued to loudly publicly broadcast the Islamic call to prayer, with Hammoud defending the practice despite concerns regarding noise ordinances. 

In 2025, Hammoud also faced criticism following a confrontation with a Christian pastor who opposed renaming a street in honor of Osama Sublani, an Arab-American publisher who promoted Hezbollah and Hamas. Hammoud told the Christian pastor he was “not welcome” in the city and that he would “launch a parade” to celebrate the day the pastor moves out of the city.