Born into a refugee camp in the West Bank, Mohsen Mahdawi achieved the dream of many — to attend one of the top universities in the world, Columbia University. The Columbia Motto touts, “In Lumine Tuo Videbimus Lumen,” or “In Thy Light Shall We See Light.” While “in thy light,” Mahdawi saw the light of attacks on his people. He witnessed Israeli attacks on his people, fellow Palestinians who had nothing to do with the Humas attacks. Mahdawi is a permanent US citizen, who enacted his right to freedom of speech. Onlookers may argue his views are misguided, but they are his views, nonetheless. In turn for participating in his freedom of thought and expression, Mahdawi is now facing deportation — a month prior to his graduation.
Protesting from the beginning of the current Israel-Hamas conflict until March 2024, Mahdawi spoke up for his people who were under daily bombardment. He also spoke against the idea that Israel was “owed” the Palestinian lands due to biblical writings. While I believe war over religion is a vestigial idea, outdated and immoral, these groups still choose to fight over the words written some 2,000 years ago. Although these words are ancient, the lives lost consistently from their reverberations are fresh. Blood nourishes the plants growing as I write these words. It is obvious why someone would protest these conflicts and seek for an ultimate end to a war which has continued throughout the last century.
The group Mahdawi was a part of stated, “violence is the only path.” They went about their disagreements in the wrong way, which I see as grounds for potential deportation. However, it should be a sign of misunderstanding by the current administration as to the seriousness of the current conflict, and of their misguided mission. When you witness, as Mahdawi did, one group of people attacking your people, your obvious answer is to retaliate in the same manner. While this comes across for Mahdawi and his group as retaliating against “Zionists,” therefore inherently “antisemitic,” it is not as clear cut as that statement inserts. If Israel were a Christian state, the group would be Christianophobic. His group is determined to protect their people from those who are attacking it. The White House should understand this fully, as can be seen in the Executive Order put out on February 6th of this year. This Executive Order, “Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias,” states: “It is the policy of the United States, and the purpose of this order, to protect the religious freedoms of Americans… .” It goes on to cite the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, which prohibits government interference with our right as Americans to exercise our religion of choice. Therefore, deportation of those, such as Rümeysa Öztürk and Rasha Alawieh, who are exercising their right to hold beliefs in their selected religious affiliation is absurd. If they are not inciting violence, and are not actively participating in violence, their deportation is unconstitutional.
While Mahdawi and his group co-leader, Mahmoud Khalil, will be deported because their incitation of violence, we must be very conscious to those being deported because of their beliefs alone. Calls for violence should never be tolerated, although simply voicing support for one’s people — especially under ongoing oppression — must not be equated with criminality. Imagine an administration who finds Christianity as a “violent religion,” and decides to remove them from the country. Over half the population will be under attack for what is their constitutional right to religious freedom and expression.
Jacob Daniel Weaver 