As the first hijab-wearing judge on the bench, US attorney Nadia Kahf has been appointed to the New Jersey Superior Court, according to local media.
According to the local news website North Jersey, Kahf, a family law and immigration attorney from the township of Wayne of Syrian descent, took the oath of office on Thursday while placing her hand on a copy of the Quran, the holy book of Muslims.
Kahf, according to Siasat, came to the United States from Syria when she was barely two years old.
Local media said that she was appointed a judge for the Passaic County Superior Court by New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy a year ago.
Kahf is not the first Muslim woman to hold the position of state judge, but she is the first to cover her head while sitting in judgment.
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.
She serves as the chairwoman of the Islamic Center of Passaic County and is the legal counsel for Wafa House, a nonprofit provider of social assistance and protection from domestic abuse with headquarters in the city of Clifton.
