By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
For more than a decade, Khizr and Ghazala Khan mourned the death of their son in private. That all changed after seven minutes in July when the two stood in front of their nation at the Democratic National Convention.
Few who saw it will forget as Khizr Khan pulled a copy of the U.S. Constitution from his suit pocket, and asked Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump if he had read the document.
On Sunday during a visit to the Islamic Center of Greater Toledo in Perrysburg Township, Khizr Khan bared his grief for his son, his pride for his country, and his motivation for his taking a stand.
In 2004, the Khans’ son, Capt. Humayun Khan, 27, was killed in Iraq while serving with the U.S. Army. He was struck by a suicide bomb blast from a vehicle he had approached while warning others to stay back in order to protect them. His actions earned him posthumously a Purple Heart and Bronze Star medals.
Khizr Khan, a Muslim from Pakistan who became a U.S. citizen in the 1970s, first talked openly about his son’s death after Trump began pushing his plan to ban Muslims in the U.S. A reporter called and asked if Khan would share his feelings about Trump’s proposal. Khan agreed, and a story was published.
That article was later picked up by the Democratic National Committee, and Khan was asked if he and his wife would speak at the convention as a Gold Star Family.
Khan was cautioned that speaking could create a firestorm.
“Our other children warned us there will be political consequences,” he said. “We had grieved in privacy.”
Khan talks with U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur and Lucas County Commissioner Tina Skeldon Wozniak.
The deciding factor for Khan was when he received a letter from a young child asking if he as an attorney could stop Donald Trump from throwing her friend out of the United States.
That did it. As his wife stood next to him on stage, Khan admonished Trump.
“If it was up to Donald Trump, (my son) never would have been in America. Donald Trump consistently smears the character of Muslims. He disrespects other minorities, women, judges, even his own party leadership,” he said.
After pulling out his copy of the U.S. Constitution, Khan asked, “Have you ever been to Arlington Cemetery? Go look at the graves of brave patriots who died defending the United States of America. You will see all faiths, genders and ethnicities. You have sacrificed nothing, and no one.”
Trump responded that he has sacrificed, creating jobs. He also questioned why Khan’s wife did not speak on the stage.
Khan said he was not surprised by Trump’s callous response. “Knowing the person’s capacity and capabilities, it was not surprising,” he said before speaking at the mosque. “It was a total disregard to basic American fundamental values.”
But more striking than Trump’s response, was the outpouring of kindness from fellow Americans, Khan said.
“I would call it an outpouring of love and support and encouragement,” he said prior to his speech. “It indicates there is more good in this country.”
Just on Saturday, as Khan walked off a plane, he was tapped on the shoulder and turned to see a very tall young man. The man, who said he was a football player, asked if he was Mr. Khan.
“Eyes welling, he says to me, ‘I’m so proud to be living in your country,’” Khan said.
No where else in the world are immigrants equal with natural born citizens. “This is the only country where customs officers say, ‘Welcome home,’” when traveling citizens return.
There are not separate categories of citizens – all are equal. “But some continue to feel as if they are immigrants,” Khan said. His visit at the mosque was to encourage Muslims and others to “participate in democracy, instead of standing on the sidelines.”
Along with the rights of democracy, come the responsibilities.
“We play an important role in the safety and security of this country,” he said.
“We are so blessed to be equal citizens of this country,” Khan said. “This country has never prohibited me from saying anything.”
Khan also questioned Trump’s running mate, Mike Pence, who as governor of Indiana said no Syrians would be allowed to settle in his state. That decision was declared unconstitutional.
One man in the audience, a Catholic from Michigan, said he had friends over to watch the Democratic National Convention. They were all moved by Khan’s powerful speech.
“We’re all immigrants in this country,” he said. “We need each other.”
Crowd gathers to hear Khizr Khan in mosque in Perrysburg Township.
Another man, a veteran of Irish heritage, thanked Khan for speaking out. “Everybody in this room started out as in immigrant,” he said, recalling signs from his childhood that said, “Help wanted. No Irish apply.”
Another man, a Muslim who served in the Marines in Iraq, said he returned from war a bitter man. “Your speech changed my life,” he said. “As American Muslims, you nailed it.”
When introducing Khan on Sunday, U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Toledo, thanked him for his dedication. “The people of our country are eternally dedicated to your family and your son for his sacrifice.”
Khan recalled a phone call from his son from Iraq on Mother’s Day of 2004. The parents asked their son to be safe. He replied, “I’m an officer of the U.S. Army,” Khan remembered. “I will do anything and everything to protect my men.”
“He taught us that care of others matters,” more than false patriotism.
Khan urged those present to show their care on Election Day. “America and its values are at a crossroads,” he said. “You have to get up on the day of the election,” and wait in long lines if necessary, “knowing that you are making a difference.”
Vote to protect the values espoused in the U.S. Constitution, he said. “We cannot let those values fail.”
And don’t stop participating after the election, he said, “So our children don’t have to hear the rhetoric we have had to hear in this election.”
