Zahid Quraishi, first federal Muslim in US, assumes charge

• Zahid Quraishi is first Muslim federal judge in United States
• He was nominated by President Biden last year
• The US Senate voted 83-13 to confirm him.

NEW YORK: Pakistan-origin Zahid Quraishi, who was nominated as the first Muslim federal judge in United States history, has assumed his responsibilities.

Zahid Quraishi is the first Muslim judge to hold this important American position, which is a great honour for Pakistanis living in the United States.

Zahid Quraishi was appointed as a federal judge on June 11 last year, after which his appointment was ratified by the US Senate.

He was nominated by Dr Ijaz, in-charge of the American Pakistan Public Committee, for the post of Federal Judge. He praised Zahid Quraishi calling him a patriotic American Muslim who expresses his conscience.

Zahid Quraishi is the first Asian American judge in a US federal court. He was nominated by US President Biden and was supported by 83-16 members in the Senate vote.

Zahid Quraishi will serve in the New Jersey District Court. It should be noted that the appointment of Zahid Quraishi was approved by both Republican and Democrats.

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Who is Zahid Quraishi?

Born in New York City and raised in New Jersey, Quraishi is the son of immigrants to the United States from Pakistan. He graduated from law school at Rutgers University and took a job in a law firm only to join the army in June 2003 to serve in its Judge Advocate General’s Corps. He was later assigned to the 1st Infantry Division, based in Germany.

Quraishi also holds the distinction of being the first person of Asian American heritage to sit on the federal bench in New Jersey.

During his military service, he twice deployed to Iraq in support of coalition military efforts in that country in 2004 and again in 2006 before being discharged with the rank of captain.

He subsequently served as assistant chief counsel in the Office of the Chief Counsel at the United States Department of Homeland Security in 2007 and as an assistant US attorney from 2008 to 2013 before returning to private practice with the New Jersey firm Riker Danzig, where he headed up its white-collar criminal defense group.

At the time of his nomination by President Joe Biden to his federal judge position, he was already serving as a magistrate judge.

Quraishi is one of a diverse slate of 11 names that President Biden put forward in March. Quraishi was the third Biden judicial nominee overall to be confirmed by the Senate.

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