Suri is a postdoctoral fellow at the Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown University.
His research centers on the role of religion in peace processes in the Middle East and South Asia.
His professor Nader Hashemi says Suri wasn't politically active on campus, although he felt strong solidarity with Palestinians.
He said that before his detention, Suri and his wife were targeted by right-wing student groups, in part because his father-in-law is Ahmed Yousef, a former Hamas adviser.