OPINION
Not all Representation is Good Representation
Before thoughtlessly embracing a “Muslim” person’s success or an “Islamic” cause or organization, do your homework BY ABU MUJAHID SAIYYID
Judge Zahid Quraishi
I
n her June 2 article “Peacock’s All-Girl Muslim Punk Band Comedy We Are Lady Parts Is a Rockin’ Good Time,” Time Magazine’s Judy Berman excitedly highlighted the success of an all-girl British Muslim band — duly hijabed and all (time. com/6053335/we-are-lady-parts-review/). In June, Muslim Americans had another taste of a similar event when [now Honorable Judge] Zahid Quraishi was confirmed as a U.S. District Judge for the District of New Jersey, making him the nation’s first Muslim American Article III federal judge. The U.S. Senate voted 83:16 to hire him — Biden’s third judicial nominee to receive a floor vote. The 16 dissenters, from their 50-bench strength, were all Republicans. Sen. Smith (D-Minn.) refrained from voting. Some Muslims raced to celebrate the
Rutgers Law School alum’s elevation to the bench, with accolades such as that the nomination strengthens the judiciary and the Federal Bench reflects the nation’s diverse fabric. Another one noted Quraishi’s two tours of duty in Iraq (2004 and 2006), that this proud Muslim American is dedicated to the values of his faith and country — an outstanding addition to the federal judiciary who hopes that his tenure is positive, lasting and rooted in courage, wisdom and justice. Really! In March, when Biden announced his intention to nominate Quraishi, the White House said he “served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey from 2008 to 2013. Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s office, Judge Quraishi served as an assistant chief
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counsel at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security [DHS]. He also served as a military prosecutor and achieved the rank of Captain in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps, deploying to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom [italics added] in 2004 and 2006,” [serving as a “detention advisor” while deployed – anyone remember Abu Ghraib] (www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/03/30/ president-biden-announces-intent-to-nominate-11-judicial-candidates/). Do those Muslims who celebrate this “landmark” understand what the DHS has been — and is still — doing to our community? Do they realize what “judging” the U.S. army’s judiciary has been doing in devastated Iraq? Yes, some Muslims have raised more than an eyebrow over his record. A Muslim, who preferred not to be named, stated, “Ask any African American how happy they are about Clarence Thomas. It’s a very similar perspective at a bunch of different levels” (https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/04/zahid-quraishi-muslim-federal-judge-criticism.html). How does one appreciate Muslim Advocates, a legal advocacy nonprofit and one that claims zakat eligibility, seeking to represent “Muslim interests,” when, while expressing its regret over certain aspects of the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 17 verdict in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, bundles the rights of Muslim Americans and other religious minorities with those of gays (muslimadvocates.org/2021/06/muslim-advocates-breathes-sigh-of-relief-after-supreme-courts-disappointing-but-narrow-fulton-decision/) … whom the Quran says “are indeed a people transgressing beyond bounds” (7:80-81)? And then there are instances when some of us start celebrating the success of Muslims in dubious, indeed Islamically prohibited
