By John Lewis & Stuart Gaffney–
We have closely followed the cases of students and immigrants, arrested and detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents since Trump took office again in January. On the morning of April 30, 2025, we awoke to a glimmer of hope amid the burgeoning authoritarianism: one student activist, Mohsen Mahdawi, a Columbia undergraduate and lawful permanent resident of the U.S. living in Vermont, had just been released on bail by order of a federal judge. Our ears particularly perked up as we heard Mahdawi⎯just moments after his release⎯boldly, but calmly, declare outside the detention facility: “I am saying it clear and loud to President Trump and his Cabinet: I am not afraid of you.”
His words conveyed courage, clarity, and conviction, free of fear, hostility, or anger. This simple, grounded, and forthright confidence seemed to us to be exactly what is needed⎯and has been lacking from far too many ostensible leaders⎯in response to the Trump administration’s brazen actions and belligerent rhetoric over the last four months. We were intrigued to know more about this person who appeared to possess such a remarkably brave and composed presence. When we learned that Mahdawi practiced Buddhism, we realized that we shared a common interest.
Mahdawi, now 34 years old, first encountered Buddhist practice as part of his healing process in the U.S. from childhood trauma he experienced growing up in the Far’a Palestinian refugee camp in the West Bank. His connection to Buddhist practice grew from there.
In an article in the Buddhist journal Tricycle, former Theravadan Buddhist monk Michael Santi Keezing recounted the personal warmth with which Mahdawi greeted him when he was invited to lead a meditation session at the Columbia University Buddhist Association, of which Mahdawi served as President. One of Mahdawi’s classmates described his experience of sitting in meditation with Mahdawi on an ongoing basis: “When you interact with people who are irritated or angry, you can become irritated or angry. When you’d interact with Mohsen, he’d be so centered, so grounded and present, you would feel centered and grounded and present.”
Mahdawi’s mindfulness practice is not confined to time on his meditation cushion; it actively pervades his life, even when he was arrested and imprisoned. Mahdawi applied for U.S. citizenship a period of time ago. When he received notice to appear for his citizenship interview in mid-April, he feared that it was just a ruse to entrap and arrest him. But he decided to go anyway in the hope that the interview would actually be real. According to The New York Times, Mahdawi met before his interview with his attorney and supportive friends, just in case anything went wrong. Mahdawi assured them he would be alright even if they arrested and detained him, because if they did, he would “use his time in prison to meditate and make heaven for himself there.”
And that appears to be exactly what Mahdawi did. In an op-ed he authored the weekend after his release, he reported that he maintained his composure and connection to his meditation practice even as he was being handcuffed and shackled by ICE agents. “I jokingly said, while taking short steps [because of the shackles], ‘This is how I do walking meditation.’” As the ICE van whisked him away, Mahdawi told himself: “Breathe in love, breathe out love.’” He later described to the VTDigger podcast: “Even though I was in prison, I was not imprisoned. I was able to imagine myself when I was in the cell, walking, hiking the forest, laying in a hammock, hearing this beautiful sound of water.”
NPR interviewed Mahdawi shortly before his release, and described that, just before the interview, he had been doing his daily meditation. He told the reporter, “I am centered internally. I am at peace.” And this foundation enabled him to have hope: “While I still know deeply that this is a level of injustice that I am facing, I have faith. I have faith that justice will prevail.”
Mahdawi is both a strong supporter of Palestinians as well as an outspoken advocate for peace for everyone and mutual understanding. Bridge building and empathy for everyone lie at the heart of his message⎯but not in an unrealistic and idealistic way. Mahdawi told 60 Minutes: “To empathize is to understand the root cause and to not look at any event or situation in a vacuum. This is for me the path moving forward.”
On many occasions, Mahdawi has recounted how, as an 11-year-old, he witnessed his best friend killed by the Israeli military, and as he held his young friend, he felt intense pain and rage and vowed to avenge his death. Years later, Mahdawi explained that little did he know as a child that his revenge would be “to have empathy and love and compassion to all beings, including Israelis.” His many conversations with Israeli and other Jewish Americans led him to a profound understanding: “the human being is not the enemy; the enemy is fear, segregation, and ignorance.”
Such an insight accords deeply with Buddhist teaching as a path to the alleviation of human suffering. For a person to manifest this wisdom, embody peace as one advocates for it, and live not necessarily without fear, but unfettered by fear—as Mahdawi appears to aspire—is a gift to the world, no matter what path leads a person to it.
John Lewis and Stuart Gaffney, together for over three decades, were plaintiffs in the California case for equal marriage rights decided by the California Supreme Court in 2008. Their leadership in the grassroots organization Marriage Equality USA contributed in 2015 to making same-sex marriage legal nationwide.
6/26 and Beyond
Published on May 22, 2025
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