After being appointed to the New Jersey Superior Court, US attorney Nadia Kahf became the first hijab-wearing judge to sit on the bench. On Thursday, the lawyer of Syrian descent took the oath to preside over the Passaic County Superior Court.
Kahf, according to Siasat, emigrated to the United States from Syria when she was just two years old. Since 2003, she has worked as a member of the NJ chapter’s board of directors for the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
She also holds the position of president of the largest mosque in New Jersey, the Islamic Center of Passaic County. Kahf has been referred to in numerous media accounts as the country’s first head scarf judge.
Some publications, however, have stressed that Carolyn Walker-Dialo, who took the oath as a civil court judge in New York in 2015, was the nation’s first hijab-wearing Muslim judge. Kahf is the first hijab-wearing judge in New Jersey, but not in the United States, according to journalist Anil Sural.
He refuted news reports that claimed Kahf was the first hijab-wearing judge in US history by stating in a tweet that Carolyn Walker-Diallo was the first such judge in 2015.
Although only the two female judges are known to cover their heads while sitting on the bench, there are many other Muslims who hold judicial positions in the US.
Zahid Quraishi, a Pakistani-American judge, is an example of a minority judge. In 2021, he made history by becoming the country’s first Muslim federal judge.
