Larry Shaw (politician)

Larry Shaw is a U.S. Democratic member of the North Carolina General Assembly representing the state's twenty-first Senate district, including constituents in Cumberland County. A corporate executive from Fayetteville, North Carolina, Shaw is currently serving in his sixth term in the state Senate. Previously, he served one term in the state House. Shaw was the highest-ranking Muslim elected official in the United States until the election of Keith Ellison to represent Minnesota's 5th congressional district. [According to Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, as cited in Alan Cooperman, "Muslim Candidate Plays Defense," "Washington Post", September 11, 2006, page A03. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/10/AR2006091000951.html] ] As of 2006, State Del. Saqib Ali (D-MD) and State Rep. Saghir "Saggy" Tahir (R-New Hampshire) are the only other Muslims to have been elected to state legislatures in the United States.cite web| title=American Muslims in 2006 elections|url=http://www.zogbyworldwide.com/sb/Readsb.cfm?ID=6744| date=2006-11-16| author=Abdus Sattar Ghazali | publisher=Al-Jazeerah Retrieved on Dec. 11, 2006] Shaw is however the longest serving Muslim, serving a total of 14 years. He was first elected in to the North Carolina House in 1994.

Larry Shaw also serves on the National Board of Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Footnotes

External links

* [http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/gascripts/members/viewMember.pl?sChamber=S&nUserID=27 Larry Shaw's Senate Page]