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Opinion

Obama’s Nomination of Muslim-American Judge Sparks Anti-Muslim Outrage

Rachel StockmanSep 7th, 2016, 5:36 pm
 

Image of President Barack Obama via Evan El-Amin/ShutterstockAs we reported earlier Wednesday, President Barack Obama announced the nomination of the first Muslim American lawyer to serve on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

Not much has been reported on Abid Riaz Qureshi other than he graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School, and spent his entire career at the high-profile and well-respected law firm Latham & Watkins LLP.  Seems pretty qualified. Despite that, simply relying on the fact that he is Muslim, the news has sparked some ridiculous online fear mongering, including from conservative websites like Breitbart.com. They sent out this lovely tweet:

Interestingly, Breitbart’s article mentions nothing about why Qureshi’s nomination would ruin the country, nor does it mention any credentials that would make him unqualified. Instead, they write: “Qureshi currently works for the firm Latham & Watkins LLP on health care fraud and securities violations. He graduated from Harvard Law School cum laude in 1997.”  Breitbart’s tweet inspired more:

And it goes on:

Of course, nothing on Qureshi’s bio indicates any desire to implement Sharia law in the United States. In fact, just the opposite.

From his law firm’s website:

Mr. Qureshi has particular expertise in matters involving allegations of:

  • False Claims Act liability
  • Violations of the federal securities laws
  • Healthcare fraud and abuse

Much of the outrage appears to come from Trump supporters who also urged followers to “vote Trump.” Earlier this spring, Trump took aim at federal Judge Gonzalo Curiel because of his “Mexican heritage.”

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.

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Rachel Stockman - President / On Air Host

Rachel Stockman is President of Law&Crime which includes Law&Crime Productions, Law&Crime Network and LawAndCrime.com. Under her watch, the company has grown from just a handful of people to a robust production company and network producing dozens of true crime shows a year in partnership with major networks. She also currently serves as Executive Producer of Court Cam, a hit show on A&E, and I Survived a Crime, a new crime show premiering on A&E this fall. She also oversees production of a new daily syndicated show Law&Crime Daily, which is produced in conjunction with Litton Entertainment. In addition to these shows, her network and production company produce programs for Facebook Watch, Cineflix and others. She has spent years covering courts and legal issues, and was named Atlanta Press Club's 'Rising Star' in 2014. Rachel graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism and Yale Law School.

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