16/08/2026
First Female Muslim Municipal.....
Who is Assma Ali?
Name: Assma A. Ali (also listed as Assma Amen Ali).
Born: United States.
Heritage: Yemeni-American.
Profession: Immigration, criminal and family-law attorney.
Law degree: Mississippi College School of Law, 2017.
Bar admission: Mississippi, 2017.
She operates Ali & Associates, P.A. in Ridgeland, Mississippi.
She has nearly 10 years of legal experience and has been involved in the Mississippi legal community, including mentoring younger lawyers.
What position did she receive?
Ali was appointed municipal judge for Benoit, a small Mississippi Delta town.
Importantly, this is not a federal or state Supreme Court judgeship. Mississippi has more than 200 municipal judges, and they are appointed by the local governing body. Municipal judges generally deal with matters such as traffic violations, city ordinance violations, misdemeanors and certain initial appearances within their municipality.
Why did the appointment become controversial?
The controversy was overwhelmingly about her being Muslim and wearing hijab, rather than evidence that she was unqualified.
Some social-media users and a few Mississippi politicians claimed—without providing evidence—that she held “radical” beliefs or would introduce Sharia law into Mississippi. Others even falsely claimed that she had fabricated the appointment or had been appointed judge in Ridgeland or Lumberton.
One social-media post described her as a “first Yemeni Sharia Hijabi judge” and questioned whether the appointment was legitimate.
What did Assma Ali say?
Ali responded publicly and produced evidence of the appointment, including her signed oath of office and Benoit’s meeting agenda.
She emphasized that she was born in the United States and said that, as both an attorney and judge, she would uphold the U.S. Constitution and Mississippi law, promising to serve with fairness, integrity and impartiality.
Is she actually allowed to be a Muslim judge? Yes. Being Muslim
