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Nadia Kahf, a hijab-wearing US attorney, has made history by being appointed to the New Jersey Superior Court as a judge. She was sworn in on Thursday to serve at the Passaic County Superior Court, becoming the first hijab-wearing judge in New Jersey. Kahf, who was born in Syria and immigrated to the US at the age of two, has been a member of the board of directors for the New Jersey chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations since 2003. She is also the president of the Islamic Center of Passaic County, one of the largest mosques in the state. While many news reports have identified Kahf as the first hijab-wearing judge in the US, others have pointed out that Carolyn Walker-Diallo, who took the oath as a civil court judge in New York in 2015, was actually the first. Nonetheless, Kahf’s appointment is still significant as it marks a milestone for diversity and representation in the judiciary system. It is worth noting that there are other Muslims serving as judges in the US, including Zahid Quraishi, a Pakistani-American who made history in 2021 by becoming the first Muslim federal judge in the country.
