Fatima Noor Receives Presidential Appointment to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Post-Truth!

Fatima Noor Receives Presidential Appointment to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Post – Truth!

Summary of eRumor:
Fatima Noor received a presidential appointment to a position in the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration (USCIS) division of the Department of Homeland Security.
The Truth:

It’s true that a University of Memphis alum named Fatima Noor was appointed to serve as a special assistant in the Office of the Director for USCIS.

However, various versions of the eRumor incorrectly report that Noor was appointed to serve as the assistant director of USCIS. That position doesn’t exist, and the closest apparent position, deputy director of USCIS, is held by Lori Scialabba, according to the USCIS website.

Noor was appointed in July of 2014 to serves as a special assistant in the Office of the Director at USCIS, the University of Memphis reports:

“Fatima Noor will be a special assistant in the Office of the Director for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Department of Homeland Security beginning July 28. Noor majored in psychology with minors in Spanish and international relations. She recently completed a month-long research fellowship in psychology hosted by Carnegie-Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh; her research will be ongoing for this program. Noor was a leader in many honor societies at the U of M. She has done volunteer work with World Relief Memphis and the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition.”

Noor was among three University of Memphis graduates who received a presidential appointment in July of 2014. The other two were Chimene Okere, who was appointed to serve as special assistant in the Office of Capital Access at the Small Business Administration; and Taylor Dodd, who was appointed to serve as a confidential assistant to the director of the Department of Treasury, according to the university.

But a number of bloggers singled out Noor’s appointment because of her Arabic name and an accompanying photo that shows her in traditional Muslim dress, including one video posted on YouTube:

“Her name is Arabic. Translated it means, ‘The Daughter of the Profit Mohamed.’ So she’s Muslim, but you knew that by how she was dressed.”

The name “Fatima” derives from “Fatimah,” which means, “To abstain” in Arabic, according to the website Behind the Name:

“Means ‘to abstain’ in Arabic. Fatimah was a daughter of the Prophet Muhammad and the wife of Ali, the fourth caliph.”

Aside from noting her Arabic name and her dress, the eRumor doesn’t include any other claims about Noor that can be investigated.