History was made in Arizona. A Muslim female judge was appointed at the Downtown Justice Center in Phoenix, reported by the local media. On Monday, June 27, 2022, Laila Ikram was affirmed as a judge pro tempore by Judge Enrique Medina Ochoa, the justice of the peace.

Apart from being the first Muslim, Laila was honoured to be the first judge in the state’s history to wear a hijab on the bench and she was the first to take the oath of office on the Holy Qur’an.

Laila Ikram’s ancestors are from Palestine, however, she now lives in North Carolina, US. Her parents are migrants to the United States from Gaza, Palestine. Laila desires to be a significant part of the Muslim community that seeks justice.

At present judges in Arizona are mostly all white and the majority are men. In a state that is around 50% white, judges across the various levels of the court system are 86.7% white, according to a 2021 report of Arizona’s court diversity from the Arizona Advocacy Foundation. More than 62% of altogether judges in Arizona are men. Ikram’s achievement is a first for a Muslim woman in Arizona, however, it is not a first in the United States.

In January 2022, US President Joe Biden selected eight judges, including Nusrat Choudhury who will become the first Muslim woman to serve as a federal judge.