In 2024, 28-year-old Umaymah Mohammad, while being interviewed at the Emory University Gaza Solidarity Encampment by "Democracy Now!", believed she was protected by the university's freedom of speech policies, just like any other student on campus. However, according to a report released by The Guardian on Monday, Mohammad, who is pursuing a joint Ph.D. in sociology and a medical degree, was suspended seven months later.
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03-25, 2025During the interview, Mohammad mentioned (but did not name) a professor at the medical school who had served as a volunteer medic in the Israeli army. She essentially questioned how the university could reconcile the professor's academic position with his role in an army that had killed tens of thousands of civilians in Gaza. Mohammad stated that the professor was "complicit in aiding and abetting genocide, aiding and abetting the destruction of the healthcare system in Gaza and the murder of over 400 healthcare workers, and is now back at Emory University, so-called 'teaching' medical students and residents how to care for patients."
The professor filed a complaint, claiming he felt unsafe and requesting the university to investigate Mohammad. This came after Emory University made national headlines in April for its swift and violent crackdown on pro-Palestinian student protests, with police using stun guns, tear gas, and rubber bullets on campus. The university's actions sparked widespread condemnation and raised questions about its commitment to free speech.
In July, the university stated that they found Mohammad in violation of the medical school's code of conduct because she had disparaged an individual in a television interview. Several people intervened, including Emory University's Open Expression Committee chair, Ilya Neeman, and law professor and Emory University Faculty Senate chair, George Shepherd. However, an Emory University associate dean insisted that Mohammad either accept the findings and face the consequences or attend a hearing in November.
She later told The Guardian that the event was "the most inhumane two hours of my life." Three people—the professor involved, another dean who had also filed a complaint against her, and the professor's faculty advisor—all demanded that Mohammad never be allowed to practice medicine. Mohammad recalled to The Guardian that the advisor, in particular, at one point screamed, "Who are you to decide what is genocide?" A week later, Mohammad was suspended from Emory University School of Medicine for a year, but she is far from alone among those facing such actions for speaking out about Palestinians.
Just this month, a prominent Iranian international law professor was barred from entering Yale University because an AI-powered, pro-Israel website claimed she was linked to a terrorist organization. Badar Khan Suri, an Indian national and postdoctoral fellow working at Georgetown University’s Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, was detained by U.S. Customs officials. His bio states that he is working on a project that examines “the underlying reasons that hinder cooperation between religiously diverse societies and the possibilities for overcoming these obstacles.”
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not directly respond to Middle East Eye’s questions about Suri’s detention from an earlier article, but instead issued a statement accusing Suri of “actively disseminating Hamas propaganda and espousing anti-Semitism on social media.” The statement sent to MEE read: “Suri has close associations with a known or suspected terrorist who is a senior advisor to Hamas. The Secretary of State made a determination on March 15, 2025, that Suri’s activities and presence in the United States render him deportable.” The DHS provided no evidence or online references to support its claims.
Suri's arrest has sparked outrage among his colleagues, who describe him as "a respected scholar." Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist, green card holder, and recent graduate of Columbia University, was denied protection by university administrators after complaining that his livelihood and family were threatened. Like Suri, he was later taken into custody and then entered into government records as a detainee in Louisiana, where Suri is now also being held. A judge last week ordered that Khalil must temporarily remain in the U.S. and did not grant the government's motion to dismiss Khalil's lawsuit against them for unlawful arrest. The government is seeking to have Khalil's case heard in Louisiana, but the judge ordered it to be heard in New Jersey.
