Biden’s Muslim American judicial nominee threatened by smear campaign

[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nn(RNS) — Late last year, President Biden nominated the first Muslim American to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals. But in the wake of Israel’s war on Gaza, that nomination may now be in jeopardy.Biden’s pick, Adeel Abdullah Mangi, has a distinguished two-decade career as a corporate litigator based in New Jersey. Born in Pakistan and educated at Oxford and Harvard, he has also done pro bono legal work focused on fighting for religious liberty.
But when Mangi, 47, went up to Congress for a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee in December, he was not grilled about his judicial philosophy but about his views on terrorism and Jews.
Republican Sen. Ted Cruz asked him, “Do you condemn the atrocities of Hamas terrorists?” Another suggested he was antisemitic. Mangi was even asked: “Do you celebrate the anniversary of 9/11 in your home?”
To many Muslims and others, the questions on the part of Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee were unvarnished examples of Islamophobia.
“I think in the climate we are in post October 7th, some members want to equate Muslims with Hamas or with terror,” said Wael Alzayat, CEO of Emgage Action, an organization that seeks to empower Muslim Americans. “This is an option for them to kind of us …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]