5 years ago, the invitation of a classmate Badar Khan Suri completely changed the life of Suri. He currently faces the expulsion from the United States. This is because he has been accused of having a relationship with a Hamas member.
Six years ago, Suri was sitting outside Jamia Millia Islamia University in Delhi, India that evening. It was at this time that one of his classmates announced – an international relief caravan is going to Gaza. Gaza is the terrain of Palestine, which operates the armed Islamic organization Hamas. Israel has blocked this territory.
As a student studying 'war and conflict', it was a rare opportunity to see one of the most controversial conflicts in the world. One of his classmates told the BBC that Suri had agreed to participate in the relief convoy that day.
On the visit, Suri became acquainted with a Palestinian woman named Muffz Saleh. Muffz was the daughter of a former Hamas adviser. Within a few months of identity, Suri and Mafage were married to the marriage.
The couple lived in Delhi for almost a decade. Later they moved to the United States and joined Suri as a Postdortural Fellow at Georgetown University. Police knocked on the door of his house on the evening of March 7 after being almost three years in Virginia in the United States. Suri was arrested.
After the arrest, on March 25, Assistant Secretary of the US Home Department, Tricia McLelalin wrote in an X post, “Suri has been arrested on allegations of close relationship with a familiar or suspected terrorist.”
Suri, however, denied the allegations against him. His arrest has come as part of the strict policy of US President Donald Trump's immigration. Recently, the US administration is taking strict action against Palestinian protesters on campus. Because they are being accused of opposing Jewish and supporting Hamas.
The United States has identified Hamas as a terrorist organization. Although the organization is not yet banned in India.
Suri's close relatives think the allegations against him are very weak. One of his teachers said, “Hamas cannot be imagined to have any relationship with a calm and hard working student like him.”
A professor in this regard said, “It is not a crime to comment on the war of Gaza. He (Suri) is a researcher studying conflict. It falls within his professional responsibility. '
One colleague claimed that Suri always had a secular view. There was no extremism in him.
The caravan started from Delhi on December 25. Later, they reached Gaza through Iran, Türkiye, Syria and Egypt for not allowing Pakistan to travel. Suri was saddened by the misery of Gaza. He focused on the help of the widows and elders there.
Suri went to Gaza for the second time to get married. His wife, Mafage Saleh, was working as an interpreter and volunteer in Gaza. Mafage's father was once the advisor to Ismail Hania, the late Hamas leader.
Mafz's father resigned from the Hamas government in the 21st. He later established an organization called the House of Wisdom; Which works to eliminate peace and conflict in Gaza.
In the arrest of the boy, Suri's father said, 'He is not involved with Hamas in any way. His only crime is that she married a Palestinian woman. '
However, he is hopeful that his son will not be expelled from the United States. “These are just complaints,” he said. There is no evidence behind this. '
