The father of a Muslim American soldier who was killed in Iraq struck a chord on the final day of the Democratic National Convention, as he challenged Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump to read the constitution.
It was a moment that for many of the thousands of people at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia — and the millions more watching it elsewhere — was the night’s most memorable, and dramatic.
Addressing thousands of delegates in Philadelphia on Thursday evening, Khizr Khan, flanked by his wife Ghazala, remembered his son Humayun Khan, who died in 2004 at the age of 28. Khan said :
"If it was up to Donald Trump, he [Humayun] 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 vows to build walls and ban us from this country."
Donald Trump was speaking at an event in Iowa, complaining that America was not allowed to waterboard terrorists, when Khizr Khan and his wife walked up to the microphone at the Democratic convention in Philadelphia.
Khan's son, Humayun, was a captain in the U.S. Army. When a vehicle packed with explosives approached his compound in Iraq in 2004, he instructed his men to seek cover as he ran toward it. The car exploded, killing Khan instantly. He was 27.
He was awarded the Bronze Star posthumously.
In 2005, The Washington Post interviewed Khizr Khan.
"They did not call him Captain Khan," he said of the men his son led.
"They called him 'our captain.' "
Mr Khan delivered one of the most damning speeches of the four-day convention. Khan told the packed convention :
“Our son Humayun had dreams of being a military lawyer, but he put those dreams aside the day he sacrificed his life to save the lives of his fellow soldiers.
Hillary Clinton was right when she called my son ‘the best of America.’ If it was up to Donald Trump, he never would have been in America.”
Khan also asked if Trump has ever visited Arlington Cemeteries.
"Go look at the graves of the brave patriots who died defending America, you will see all faiths, genders, and ethnicities.
You have sacrificed nothing. And no one."
