Barack Obama Just Nominated A Muslim To Be A Federal Judge. That’s A First

[Stuart G]

Source: Huff Post


WASHINGTON ― President Barack Obama made history on Tuesday by nominating the first Muslim person to the federal judiciary, Abid Qureshi.

“I am pleased to nominate Mr. Qureshi to serve on the United States District Court bench,” Obama said in a statement. “I am confident he will serve the American people with integrity and a steadfast commitment to justice.”

It’s unlikely Qureshi’s nomination to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia will go anywhere. With just months left in Obama’s term, Senate Republicans have all but stopped confirming his judicial picks.

But the nomination carries a symbolic value: It lands in the midst of a chaotic presidential campaign in which GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump has said that a Muslim federal judge wouldn’t treat him fairly because of his calls for banning Muslims from entering the country. Trump made similarly bigoted charges that a Latino federal judge would be biased against him because he has advocated for building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.


Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/obama-muslim-federal-judge_us_57cf2cfbe4b03d2d45970d3a?section=&

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[riversedge]

1. So, the repugs will hold this appointment up also.

[TheDebbieDee]

2. I hope that republiCANT heads are EXPLODING!

[A Round Tuit]

4. Probably not...

Since they know the nomination will go nowhere, unless Mrs. Clinton is elected.

And probably even less then, if they still hold a majority.

You think there was grid lock with Mr. Obama...you ain't seen nothing yet.

But...I'm sure just the fact that he is Muslim is enough to cause infarcts within the GOP circles and beyond.

[hibbing]

3. I see anxious little fingers from tiny hands getting anxious

To tweet out another racist post.

Peace

[dhill926]

5. aha! that PROVES it....

[sakabatou]

6. Now watch as Republicans scream bloody murder

[mountain grammy]

7. and the fucking Republican Senate will do nothing

cause that's what they do best..

[Rex]

8. CONgress will respond in a sane and rational manner.

[BadGimp]

9. Obama's playing Chess again..

[trof]

10. OMG! SHARIA LAW!!!

[muriel_volestrangler]

11. Apparently not the first, after all

But did any of those news outlets perform a perfunctory check of the claim? Because it appears that this particular bit of history was made years ago: in 2009, President Obama nominated Abdul Karim Kallon, who was reported to be a Muslim by the Islamic Society of North America, to the federal bench. In January of 2010, he became a U.S. District Judge for the northern district of Alabama.

Those convinced that Muslims endure unbearable persecution in the U.S. may find the circumstances of his confirmation surprising: Kallon was backed by both of Alabama’s Republican senators and confirmed with unanimous consent.

In fact, it appears that even Kallon was not the first Muslim federal judge. In the book Religion and Immigration: Christian, Jewish, and Muslim Experiences in the United States, chapter author M.A. Muqtedar Khan mentions a Muslim federal judge being appointed prior to the 2000 election, likely by President Clinton.

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2016/09/07/the-headlines-are-wrong-abid-r-qureshi-is-not-the-first-muslim-american-federal-judge-nominee/

And Kallon was nominated to be promoted, this year.