{"id":102298,"date":"2025-11-17T20:39:17","date_gmt":"2025-11-17T18:39:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=102298"},"modified":"2025-11-17T20:39:17","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T18:39:17","slug":"sami-hamdi-us-detention-exposes-efforts-to-silence-palestinian-advocacy-raises-global-alarm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/sami-hamdi-us-detention-exposes-efforts-to-silence-palestinian-advocacy-raises-global-alarm\/","title":{"rendered":"Sami Hamdi: US Detention Exposes Efforts to Silence Palestinian Advocacy, Raises Global Alarm"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za<\/a>
\n3-minute read | 17 November 2025 | 10:10 CAT<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"

\ud83d\udcf7 British commentator Sami Hamdi speaks to Radio Islam International after his release from US immigration detention – a case he says reflects a growing crackdown on Palestinian advocacy and free speech. Image: Reuters<\/p><\/div>\n

Urgent attention is being drawn to the conditions surrounding the recent detention of British political commentator Sami Hamdi, who describes his two-week ordeal in U.S. immigration custody as \u201cpolitical punishment dressed up as immigration law.\u201d Allegations of being denied medical care, held in inhumane conditions and publicly framed as a \u201cterrorist sympathizer\u201d claims that never surfaced in court have ignited concerns about the shrinking space for Palestinian advocacy.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Radio Islam International<\/a>,<\/em> Hamdi asserted that his detention must be understood within a wider, deeply troubling pattern: \u201cThis was never about a visa\u2026 it was about shutting down dissent.\u201d He warned that the U.S. government and pro-Israeli lobby groups appear increasingly determined to stifle voices critical of Israel\u2019s actions in Gaza and beyond.<\/p>\n

Hamdi argues that his case reflects a lobby acting not from confidence but fear. \u201cThe shift in public opinion is enormous, sympathy for the Palestinian cause is growing rapidly,\u201d he said, pointing to young American voters rejecting \u201cIsrael First candidates\u201d and to candidates publicly refusing AIPAC funding. He noted that this generational and cross-party shift has placed unprecedented pressure on the Israeli lobby: \u201cThey believe themselves today to be in an existential crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n

The commentator detailed a concerning escalation of attempts to silence pro-Palestinian advocacy from targeting U.S. citizens like Mehdi Hassan, to green card holders such as Mahmoud Khalil, to student visa holders including Rumeysa Ozturk and Mohsen Mahdawi. Courts repeatedly ruled these efforts unconstitutional. \u201cCitizens, they couldn\u2019t get them. Green card holders, they struggled. Student visas, they failed,\u201d Hamdi explained. \u201cSo they went after a short-term visitor visa, they came after me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two U.S. federal judges later found \u201cclear signs of an infringement on his right to freedom of speech,\u201d prompting a sudden shift in tone from government lawyers eager to \u201cmake this go away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reflecting on his experience, Hamdi emphasised faith over fear: \u201cAllah always looks after me, nothing that happened to me compares to the genocide taking place in Palestine.\u201d He invoked the suffering of children like Sidra and Hind Rajab as a stark reminder of the true scale of injustice.<\/p>\n

In his closing remarks, Hamdi offered a pointed message: \u201cThere is a joy to know that the voice was so loud that they had to come after us, despite their material superiority, it\u2019s not providing them any comfort.\u201d<\/p>\n

His ordeal now stands as a warning and a call for vigilance as global repression of Palestinian activism intensifies.<\/p>\n

Listen<\/strong> to the full interview on Sabahul Muslim<\/em> <\/a>with Moulana Sulaimaan Ravat and Samdi Hamdi.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 3-minute read | 17 November 2025 | 10:10 CAT Urgent attention is being drawn to the conditions surrounding the recent detention of British political commentator Sami Hamdi, who describes his two-week ordeal in U.S. immigration custody as \u201cpolitical punishment dressed up as immigration law.\u201d Allegations of being denied medical care, held […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":102299,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[28,4995,4997],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-102298","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-south-africa","category-world"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Sami-Hamdi.jpg?fit=275%2C183&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-qBY","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-24 11:52:30","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102298","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102298"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102298\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102299"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102298"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}