Yesterday I shared an update about the latest with Mohammed's situation on the site for his online petition, "Support WWU Scholarship Recipient Mohammed's Evacuation from Gaza & Education at WWU." For a number of weeks, signatures had stalled, not quite reaching 1,000. We are still trying to do everything we can to get the word out about this petition, and to find more support for Mohammed. Today we happily passed the 1,000 mark, and at the time of this writing we are at 1,065. I am very grateful to everyone who has signed, and everyone who is helping us find more supporters.
In case there might be someone who has not yet signed the petition but wants to help, I am also cross-posting most of the information I shared in the petition update here, and letting anyone who might be reading this what the latest news is regarding these efforts. Below are excerpts from the petition update:
January 22, 2026
There is currently an application pending with the federal government requesting that they grant Mohammed Emergency Humanitarian Parole, which would allow him the U.S. to help facilitate his evacuation, and permit his legal entry and temporary residence in the U.S. even without a visa, on the basis of having secured sponsorship, which he has, and in the case of facing "urgent humanitarian crises" and/or for a limited duration for the purposes of something that constitutes a significant public benefit.
The application we submitted is strong in all of these areas, and was complete with documentation that could support our case. We are also hopeful they may also consider a request to expedite its processing, due to the time sensitivity of this opportunity for Mohammed, and the urgency of the ongoing emergency he is experiencing in Gaza.
All of this to say: there is a pathway forward that would allow Mohammed to come to Bellingham, Washington, receive the scholarship he has been awarded, and complete his undergraduate degree at Western Washington University.
Having a show of support in the form of this petition will further strengthen the requests and the application currently pending, and it will also encourage decision-makers to voice their support and give their approval in due haste. Over the next four weeks, we would really like to get as many signatures as possible, and we are asking for your support in helping us with this effort.
Please join us in trying to do all we can to make sure that Mohammed doesn't have this opportunity taken from him. To lose this scholarship would be yet another cruelty and injustice, and it is one we must try to prevent. Please share this petition with as many potential supporters as you can.
Here is the direct link to the petition: https://www.change.org/p/support-wwu-scholarship-recipient-mohammed-s-evacuation-from-gaza-education-at-wwu
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NOTE: The "Take the Next Step" button at the bottom of the petition update page on the Change.org site will ask you to make a donation to support this petition, but you do not have to do this. You can skip this and go directly to the petition. There have already been a number of generous people who have done this, to whom we thank. But further donations to this platform are not necessary or required, and if you do want to make a donation, you can also support Mohammed via a donation to his survival fundraising campaign.
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