Khizr Khan’s memoir details Muslim family’s pursuit of American dream after defying Donald Trump on world’s stage
In 2016, Khan offered the soon-to-be president his pocket Constitution during a televised speech denouncing him; his book, ‘An American Family: A Memoir of Hope and Sacrifice’, offers insights into his experience of personal loss
Of all the people who denounced Donald Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign for proposing “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States” as a way to combat terrorism, perhaps none was more scathing than Khizr Khan, a Pakistan-born lawyer whose 27-year-old son, a captain in the US army, was killed by a suicide bomber during the 2004 war in Iraq.
“Donald Trump, you are asking Americans to trust you with their future,” Khan said in a widely televised speech at the Democratic National Convention in the run-up to the tumultuous election that brought Trump to power. With his wife, Ghazala, standing next to him, Khan theatrically stabbed his finger into the air and added: “Let me ask you – have you ever read the United States Constitution?”
Then, reaching into his jacket, Khan pulled out a dog-eared booklet and waved it in the air. “I will gladly lend you my copy,” he said, addressing Trump, as the audience applauded. Soon after Khan’s speech, Google searches for “register to vote” spiked and pocket Constitutions skyrocketed to the top of bestseller lists.
An expert in US constitutional law, Khan is a “Gold Star parent” – part of a highly respected group of immediate relatives of US armed forces members who died during military service.
Yet Trump appeared to belittle him – as well as his Muslim faith – when he later claimed that Khan had delivered the entire speech because his wife was not “allowed” to speak. (Ghazala replied that she did not speak because she feared she would break down emotionally if she did.)
In any case, Khan’s public rebuke effectively represented the Democratic Party’s response to Trump’s repeated comments implying that many American Muslims tend to sympathise with terrorists or fail to report those who do.
‘Typical of a person without a soul’: father of Muslim war hero puts Trump on the defensive after speech furore
At a time when the patriotism of US Muslims is being questioned, Khan is using his celebrity status not just to fight Islamophobia but also to bring attention to the contributions of immigrants, such as him, in upholding ideals dear to American patriots.
