Mosaic Congratulates Zahid Quraishi on his Historic Confirmation as the First Muslim Article III Federal Judge
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Mosaic Muslim Federal Employee Association www.mosaicfeds.org
Washington, D.C., June 10, 2021 - Mosaic congratulates Judge Zahid Quraishi on his Senate Confirmation Thursday as the U.S. District Court Judge for the District of New Jersey by a vote of 81-16.
See: Senate Judiciary Committee Nomination Hearing (Video)
Mosaic welcomes Judge Quraishi’s historic confirmation by the Senate and nomination by the Biden Administration, which serve as critical steps to improve and strengthen America’s representation of marginalized communities like Muslims in the judiciary. Mosaic is hopeful that this is the first of many judicial appointments for American-Muslims and other marginalized communities.
Judge Quraishi is the first Article III (Senate confirmed, Presidentially appointed) Federal Judge. Judge Mustafa Kasubhai is a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon and became the first Muslim Federal Judge in 2018. Judge Zia Faruqui became the third federal judge in 2020.
Quraishi began his public service career in 2003 where he served in the United States Army Judge Advocate General's Corps rising to the rank of Captain. He served two deployment tours in Iraq in 2004 and 2006.
In 2007, he served as assistant chief counsel in the Office of the Chief Counsel at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in New York City. From 2008 to 2013, he became an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey.
He then went to a private law firm, Riker Danzig Scherer Hyland & Perretti LLP in New Jersey from 2016-2019.
In 2019, Quraishi was appointed U.S. Magistrate Judge for the District of New Jersey. On March 30, 2021, President Biden nominated Quraishi to the U.S. District Court Judge for the District of New Jersey.
Quraishi is of Pakistani descent and the first Asian-American to serve on New Jersey’s federal bench.
On Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor, "Mr. Quraishi will be the first American Muslim in United States history to serve as an Article III federal judge. The third largest religion in the United States, and he will become the first to ever serve as an Article III judge."
ABOUT MOSAIC
Mosaic is a professional network of American Muslims in the federal government dedicated to career advancement, leadership development, and promoting diversity, equity and inclusion.
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