Appointment of Muslim judge in tiny Mississippi town draws social media attacks
- Assma Ali was appointed last week as municipal judge for Benoit, a town of fewer than 400 people in Mississippi's Bolivar County.
- Ali is a U.S.-born attorney of Yemeni descent with nearly 10 years of immigration law experience and a private practice in Ridgeland.
- Her appointment drew online backlash from some social media users and a few Mississippi politicians, including false claims about her role and religion.
- Ali said she will uphold the U.S. Constitution and Mississippi law, and she later posted her signed oath of office and the meeting agenda showing her appointment.
A municipal judge appointment in the small Mississippi Delta town of Benoit has prompted social media attacks aimed at Assma Ali because she is Muslim. Some posts falsely claimed she was appointed in other towns and suggested, without evidence, that she would bring Islamic law into Mississippi.
Ali is an American citizen of Yemeni descent who has practiced immigration law for nearly a decade. She earned her law degree from Mississippi College School of Law in 2017, was admitted to the state bar that same year, and runs a private practice in Ridgeland.
People who know Ali, including a law professor, described her as qualified and active in the legal community. Ali said she is committed to upholding the U.S. Constitution and Mississippi law, while supporters noted that religion cannot legally be used to disqualify someone from public office.
密西西比州小镇任命穆斯林法官引发社交媒体攻击
密西西比三角洲小镇贝努瓦的一项市政法官任命，因阿斯玛·阿里是穆斯林而在社交媒体上遭到攻击。一些帖子还错误地称她被任命在其他城镇，并在没有证据的情况下暗示她会把伊斯兰法带入密西西比。
阿里是美国公民，具有也门血统，已从事近十年的移民法业务。她于2017年获得密西西比学院法学院法学学位，同年获准加入州律师协会，目前在里奇兰德经营私人律所。
了解她的人，包括一名法学教授，都称她资历合格，并且是法律界受人尊敬的成员。阿里表示，她将遵守美国宪法和密西西比州法律；支持者指出，法律上不能因宗教原因取消任何人的公职资格。