We write as Unitarian Universalists, to call for the termination of all deportation proceedings against Mohsen Mahdawi, a lawful permanent US resident, Columbia University student, and Palestinian human rights activist.

Mohsen’s spiritual practices of Unitarian Universalism and Buddhism inform and are informed by his championing of human rights through active organizing, peace building, and policy reform.

The deportation proceedings against Mr. Mahdawi aim to punish him for speaking out against the genocide in Palestine. His case is a clear example of the United States government violating the principles of free speech that are enshrined in the American democratic tradition and the Constitution. 

Unitarian Universalists are diverse in faith, ethnicity, history and spirituality, but aligned in our desire to make a difference for the good. We have a track record of siding with love, justice, and peace and believe in the inherent dignity of all people.

When speaking about Mohsen, Rev. Karen G. Johnston, the Senior Minister at First Unitarian Universalist Society of Burlington said "Mohsen has been a Unitarian Universalist nearly as long as he has been a Vermonter; he is often heard naming both as part of his wide family whom he embraces and who embraces him. As UUs, we are enriched by Mohsen's spiritual depth, his moral courage, and his authentic commitment to Love at the Center and the possibility of universal healing through justice." 

As Nate Freed Wessler, deputy director of the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project said, “Mohsen should never have been detained for his speech, and a federal judge has already agreed. The government’s continued persecution of our client for his beliefs should send a chill down the spine of everyone in this country, because once we start allowing exceptions to the First Amendment for speech the current government doesn’t like, there’s no telling where the censorship will stop.”

As Unitarian Universalists, our foundational commitments rest upon values of pluralism, justice, inquiry and debate, and democratic freedom of expression for all people. It is these commitments that compel us to sign this letter of support and rally behind Mohsen Mahdawi in his defense against the administration’s attempts to use his case as a means to directly silence him and to set alarming precedents in our legal system.