WASHINGTON: The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition of major rights groups in America, is urging the US Senate to swiftly confirm Adeel A. Mangi and other judicial nominees.

In a landmark nomination last month, President Joe Biden put forward Mr Mangi, a Harvard- and Oxford-trained lawyer, for the position of a judge on the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. If confirmed, Mr Mangi would make history as the first Muslim American to serve on a federal appellate court in the US.

Maya Wiley, the conference’s president and CEO, emphasised the importance of diversity in the judiciary and hailed Mr Mangi’s potential confirmation as a historic milestone.

In a statement released after Mr Mangi faced hostile questioning at a Senate hearing on Wednesday, Ms Wiley said America needed Muslim judges. “This diversity matters for strengthening trust in our judiciary — and we celebrate these long overdue milestones,” she wrote.

Biden’s first Muslim-American nominee for federal court faces hostile questioning

A prominent legal expert and law professor Carl Tobias also criticised the Republican scrutiny of Mr Mangi as unwarranted and unrealistic, noting that Mr Mangi faced some of the sharpest criticism among Biden administration’s judicial appointments.

“This is a milestone we should have reached many years ago,” said Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey while introducing Mr Mangi to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.

“With nearly 3.5 million Muslims in the US and just over 320,000 Muslims in New Jersey alone, our Muslim communities have waited far too long for better representation in our democracy,” Senator Menendez said in his opening remarks.

But even this forceful introduction could not prevent some Republican lawmakers from targeting Mr Mangi for his religion.

“Do you believe that Jews are colonial settlers in Israel?” Republican Senator Tom Cotton asked Mr Mangi. Ted Cruz, another Republican, grilled Mr Mangi on Hamas. “Do you condemn the atrocities of Hamas terrorists?” he asked.

Later, Senator Cotton tweeted, repeating his objection to Mr Mangi’s nomination. “I asked President Biden’s judicial nominee, Adeel Mangi, whether Jews are ’colonial settlers in Israel. He refused to answer the question,” he wrote. “It’s unacceptable this is the type of judge the Biden administration nominates.”

This unusual line of questioning, focusing on geopolitics rather than legal qualifications, sparked allegations of treachery and raised concerns about religious bias.

Democratic senators voiced disappointment in the questions posed by Republicans, emphasising that Muslim Americans often face repeated inquiries about condemning anti-Semitism and terrorism, which they found insulting and unfortunate.

Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee advi­sed the lawmakers to focus on the accomplishments and professional experience of the nominees.

Another New Jersey senator, Cory Booker, said that Mr Mangi “moved me… with his reflections on the beautiful tapestry that is America. He is more than worthy of the profound responsibility of serving on our judiciary”.

Published in Dawn, December 17th, 2023