WASHINGTON: Nadia Kahf became the first judge to take oath in a hijab in New Jersey this week. She swore on her grandmother’s Quran.
“I’m overwhelmed and extremely happy and very honored,” Judge Kahf, 50, told the North Jersey news station. “I’m glad the bench will represent New Jerseyans.”
Ms. Kahf practices family and immigration law. She has been on the New Jersey Council on American-Islamic Relations board since 2003.
Moreover, Ms. Kahf became a Passaic County Superior Court judge after a year of waiting. NJ Governor Phil Murphy nominated her.
“I am pleased to represent the Muslim and Arab populations in New Jersey in the United States,” she said during her swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday. I want the younger generation to know they may follow their religion without fear and be themselves.
Moreover, In February 2022, State Senator Kristin Corrado delayed Ms. Kahf’s Superior Court nomination until October.
“Do the right thing and make history by appointing the very first hijabi to the New Jersey Superior Court,” wrote 90 New Jersey government figures and hundreds of residents to Senator Corrado.
New Jersey state senators can utilize “senatorial courtesy” to delay or block nominations.
While, Judge Kahf was confirmed early this month, almost six months after Senator Corrado removed her hold in October 2022.
“It is ordered that effective upon taking the judicial oath of office, and until further Order, Superior Court Judge Nadia Kahf is hereby assigned to the Superior Court, Family Division, Passaic County,” said a March 3, 2023 ruling.
Profile
Syrian-born Nadia Kahf moved to the US at age 2. She is president of the Islamic Centre of Passaic County, one of the state’s largest mosques, and legal counsel for Wafa House, a nonprofit domestic abuse and social care agency.
Montclair State University, New Jersey’s second-largest public university by enrollment, awarded Ms. Kahf her B.A. in 1994. Seton Hall University in New Jersey awarded her a JD. JDs are the highest legal degree in the US.
Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley created Seton Hall in 1856. America’s oldest diocesan university.
She has been a distinguished New Jersey lawyer since 2002.
Her law company “represented me and my wife in a real estate deal in New York City,” wrote Clyde B. The lawyers and support staff were professional and promptly answered our calls and emails. Notwithstanding our absence.”
