US officials say Indian scholar is accused of spreading Hamas propaganda, antisemitism

TOI correspondent from Washington: Georgetown University researcher Badar Khan Suri, who has been detained and flagged him for deportation for his pro-Hamas activism, is married to Maphaz Saleh, who is a Palestinian. Maphaz's father Ahmed Yousef is said to be a senior political advisor to Hamas, which the US has designated a terrorist organisation.

The couple met in Gaza when Suri was part of a humanitarian convoy in 2011. They married in 2014, after which Maphaz moved to Delhi and enrolled at Jamia Millia, eventually earning a master's degree in conflict analysis and peace-building from the Nelson Mandela Centre for Peace & Conflict Resolution.

They came to the US sometime after 2020 following Suri's PhD; while he enrolled as a Peace & Conflict Studies Postdoctoral Fellow at Georgetown University's Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Maphaz is also pursuing a master's degree at the School of Foreign Service's Center for Contemporary Arab Studies. Suri is currently teaching a class on majoritarianism and minority rights in South Asia and researching peace-building in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Homeland security officials said Suri was arrested under a US law that allows deportation of non-citizens whom "the secretary of state has reasonable ground to believe would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the US". He was accused of "spreading Hamas propaganda and promoting antisemitism on social media," with "close connections" to a senior advisor to Hamas.

Georgetown University said it was not aware of Suri engaging in any illegal activity and had not received a reason for his detention.

Suri's lawyer Hassan Ahmad suggested that his client had been abducted, saying he had no criminal record and nor has he been charged with any crime. "Seeing our govt abduct and jail another innocent person is beyond contemptible. And if an accomplished scholar who focuses on conflict resolution is whom the govt decides is bad for foreign policy, then perhaps the problem is with the govt, not the scholar," Ahmad said.

A brief scrutiny of Suri's social media posts, which were infrequent, showed trenchant criticism of Israel's attacks on Gaza, including India's support for Israel. In a June 6, 2024, post, Suri mocked the Modi govt for its purported support for Israel and abandonment of Palestine after a Palestinian network posted a video of a missile fragment with an India imprint on it.

"From being an ally of Palestinians, to enabler of a genocide. What a disgrace for Made in India, to supply missiles to Israel so that Palestinian children can be butchered. Change of values for blood money. Shame," he wrote. While Suri was identified by Georgetown University as an Indian national, 'The Hoya' said Maphaz was a US citizen, raising questions in the MAGAsphere as to how "the daughter of a Hamas representative came to acquire American citizenship".

In Delhi, Badar's classmate at Jamia, Amir Khan, told TOI: "Badar was an introverted and shy person with a great sense of humour. We studied together for our Master's from 2009 to 2011, and he later pursued his PhD at the same centre." Khan added that Badar had strong opinions on the Palestinian issue, which he often voiced, but emphasised that he was never involved in street activism. "During our time at the university, he was more academically focused," Khan explained.

In 2010, Badar participated in a solidarity delegation supporting Palestine, which included participants from various countries. It was during this event that he met Maphaz.

"Badar comes from a humble background, with his family living in Saharanpur. His father was a food inspector and is now retired. The news has deeply disturbed the family," Khan said, terming the deportation move "a witch hunt".

(With inputs from Sugandha Jha in New Delhi)