US attorney Nadia Kahf has been appointed as the first hijab-wearing and Muslim woman judge to the New Jersey Superior Court. Kahf will work in the Passaic county.
Kahf, a Wayne Township attorney who specialized in family law and immigration and is of Syrian origin, took the oath of office on Thursday while placing her hand on a Holy Quran.
As per the US media report, last year, Phil Murphy, the governor of New Jersey had nominated Kahf. Mayors, council members, members of the school board, and executives of the New Jersey Muslim Lawyers Association signed a letter in May urging Senator Kristin Corrado to move the nomination forward. Also, an online petition supporting her nomination received more than 700 signatures.
Nadia Kahf during the oath-taking ceremony asserted, “I am proud to represent the Muslim and Arab communities in New Jersey in the US. I want the younger generation to see that they can practice their religion without fear that they can be who they are. Diversity is our strength, it is not our weakness.”
Since 2003, Kahf had been a member of the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ board of directors for the New Jersey chapter, where she also held the position of chairwoman.
She also served as the chairwoman of the Islamic Center of Passaic County and served as legal counsel for Wafa House, a nonprofit domestic abuse and social assistance organization with headquarters in Clifton.
