‘An extraordinary moment’: NJ’s Zahid Quraishi makes history as first Muslim federal judge

June 10, 2021   

(Bergen Record) A New Jersey magistrate judge and former prosecutor will become the first Muslim to serve on the federal bench, in a move hailed as a groundbreaking step toward representation and diversity.

Zahid Quraishi of Union County won broad bipartisan support from the U.S. Senate on Thursday, which confirmed his appointment as a U.S. district judge for the District of New Jersey, 81-16. He was the second New Jersey official to win approval to a federal judgeship this week. On Tuesday, senators voted 66-33 to appoint Bergen County administrator Julien X. Neals.

Senator Cory Booker, the New Jersey Democrat who recommended Quraishi, 46, for the position, lauded him as a person of conviction and patriotism “who happens to also be Muslim.”

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