Author Topic: How the father of slain Muslim soldier shamed Donald Trump, upstaged Hillary Clinton—and did it without notes.  (Read 2605 times)

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Offline sinkspur

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Seven Minutes That Shook the Convention
How the father of slain Muslim soldier shamed Donald Trump, upstaged Hillary Clinton—and did it without notes.
:th_10444:

By ANNABELLE TIMSIT July 29, 2016

He walked onto the convention stage Thursday night with his wife beside him, the Constitution to guide him and the pride of a father who knows he has a story to tell.

“Tonight,” said Khizr M. Khan, “we are honored to stand here as the parents of Capt. Humayun Khan, and as patriotic American Muslims with undivided loyalty to our country.”


That was the beginning of a 7-minute speech that became an instant sensation—eloquent, emotional and notably original, coming as it did at the end of four days of highly processed political cliche. Khan, a 66-year-old immigration lawyer from Charlottesville, told the story of his son’s death in combat in Iraq, but he turned that elegy into a viral rebuke of Donald Trump: “You have sacrificed nothing!”

And Khan delivered his broadside without using the teleprompter. There was nothing to put on it, because he had written nothing down.

His speech, delivered in prime-time just before Chelsea Clinton, was practiced “in my head and in my mind” and “spoken from the heart,” Khan told POLITICO.

The story of how Khan, who is not even a registered Democrat, came to be standing on a stage where Hillary Clinton would moments later accept the nomination for president, began on June 8, 2004, the day his son was killed by a car bomber in Baqubah.

In 2005, Khan talked about his late son to the Washington Post. He recounted the family’s journey from Pakistan to the United Arab Emirates, and from there to Boston, where Khan completed his L.L.M at Harvard University. The family moved to Maryland in time for Humayun to go to high school. Even back then, Khan told the Post, Humayun “was the middle one, the comforter, the one the cousins would run to when they were being picked on. He gave swimming lessons to disabled children in high school.”

This sense of responsibility for others showed up again when Humayun joined the Army after graduating from high school. Humayun finished his four years of service and was preparing for law school at the University of Virginia when the Army called on him to serve in Iraq. He died there, four months after his arrival, while protecting his unit from a car that was speeding toward his men. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart for his courage.

Khan didn’t give another interview about his son for a decade, until Donald Trump, who had risen to the top of the pack of GOP candidates, called for a ban on Muslims entering the United States. Muslim families like the Khans.

A reporter from Vocativ called Khan and asked him to retell his son’s story in light of the Republican frontrunner’s comments. “Muslims are American, Muslims are citizens…we are proud American citizens. It’s the values [of this country] that brought us here, not our religion. Trump’s position on these issues do not represent those values,” Khan said.

A few days after the article was published, Khan received a call from a member of the Hillary Clinton campaign. The staffer asked him if Hillary Clinton could use his remarks, exactly as written in the interview he had given Vocativ, in a tribute to his son.

“I said ‘Yes, of course.’”

In Minneapolis in December 2015, Hillary Clinton gave a moving tribute to Humayun Khan, who was one of 14 American Muslims who died serving the United States in the 10 years after the September 11 terrorist attacks. Clinton narrated the soldier’s story through his father’s words: “’We still wonder what made him take those 10 steps,’ Khan’s father said…. ‘Maybe that’s the point where all the values, all the service to country, all the things he learned in this country kicked in. It was those values that made him take those 10 steps. Those 10 steps told us we did not make [a] mistake in moving to this country,’ his father finished.”

Later, the Clinton campaign contacted Mr. Khan again and asked if he would be willing to let them use the same tribute during the Democratic convention. Once again, he answered "Yes, of course."

Then they called again: Would you and your wife, Ghazala, be willing to appear on stage after the tribute? The campaign thought it would send a strong message of support for the candidate. He didn’t hesitate.
The fourth time they called they asked: “Would you like to say something at the convention?”

Khan knew this was unusual honor. In an interview he gave the San Francisco Chronicle two days before his speech, he said, “Nowhere but in the United States is it possible that an immigrant who came to the country empty-handed only a few years ago gets to stand in front of patriots and in front of a major political party. ... It is my small share to show the world, by standing there, the goodness of America.”

The Clinton campaign offered to put him in contact with a speechwriter. He declined. He knew what he wanted to say. He practiced at home with his family, leaning on 40 years of experience as an attorney that taught him “how to control my thoughts, my emotions and my message.”

On the day of the speech, he grabbed his worn copy of the Constitution and slipped it in his jacket pocket. He carries it regularly, especially when he travels. “It’s my favorite document. I wanted to use it because I wanted to highlight the protections that immigrants have in this country.”

Walking on stage he knew the pocket-sized book was going to come out of his pocket before the evening was done.

“The main purpose of my speech was to bring awareness about the constitutional protections that each citizen of the United States enjoys and to try to prevent the scare that immigrant communities are feeling about the misinformation that one candidate had been pandering. So the effort was to put these worried minds at ease by asking that question: ‘Have you even read the constitution?’ ”

In the minute after he finished at 9:18 p.m., observers noted a spike in people searching Google for "register to vote." Andrew Sullivan of New York magazine called the speech “the fulcrum of this election.” Friday morning, as the Khans made their way home to Virginia, people stood in line in the Acela Club waiting room in Philadelphia to shake Khan's hand.

He sounded tired as he spoke to POLITICO by phone. “I’m a little overwhelmed by all the well-wishers.”

Asked if he thought he had accomplished what he had hoped with the speech, Khan responded, “I will continue to work on it, one step at a time.”


Read more: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/07/seven-minutes-that-shook-the-convention-214126#ixzz4Fqy7FI21
Follow us: @politico on Twitter | Politico on Facebook
Roy Moore's "spiritual warfare" is driving past a junior high without stopping.

Offline sinkspur

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If you have not seen this speech, you should watch it.  Even if you hate Hillary, the man's words are powerful.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xzkkk-oJ6bo
Roy Moore's "spiritual warfare" is driving past a junior high without stopping.

Offline sinkspur

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Nobody here gives a damn about this man and his story.  But it was powerful and solidified my opposition to Trump.
 
Benjy Sarlin
‏@BenjySarlin
Khizr Khan near tears on MSNBC right now, appealing to Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan -- who he says he admires -- to repudiate Trump fully.
Roy Moore's "spiritual warfare" is driving past a junior high without stopping.

Offline sinkspur

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Sabrina Siddiqui ‏@SabrinaSiddiqui  7m7 minutes ago North Bethesda, MD
"I told him, 'Don't be a hero. Go safely and come back, come back as my son.' He came back as a hero." -- Ghazala Khan
Roy Moore's "spiritual warfare" is driving past a junior high without stopping.

Offline sinkspur

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I hope someone gives a damn about this man and his story. It reflects upon on our military and how our military (the most patriotic Americans) includes Muslims, Hispanics, people of all faiths and beliefs that serve because of the powerful words of my country comes first!  His son gave his life for his fellow soldiers and his country. I thank you for posting the video.

Thank you, friend.   Trump is driving our country into camps.  Many of those who follow Trump think this man is a usurper, that he should never have been allowed to come here in the first place.  That his son should never have been allowed to serve in the military because he was Muslim.

I just hate what Trump is doing to that segment of the country who follows HIM.  They don't care what he espouses.  It's about his personna, his rudeness, his slapping people around.   Trump is a black hole, needing to be noticed every minute of every day.  He says whatever he needs to say to get some to follow him.  And if those who follow him today suddenly dropped him, he'd morph into somebody else so he'd still attract a following

A needy, obsessed, angry man has no business in the White House.  I pray we come to our senses before November.
Roy Moore's "spiritual warfare" is driving past a junior high without stopping.

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Thank you, friend.   Trump is driving our country into camps.  Many of those who follow Trump think this man is a usurper, that he should never have been allowed to come here in the first place.  That his son should never have been allowed to serve in the military because he was Muslim.

I just hate what Trump is doing to that segment of the country who follows HIM.  They don't care what he espouses.  It's about his personna, his rudeness, his slapping people around.   Trump is a black hole, needing to be noticed every minute of every day.  He says whatever he needs to say to get some to follow him.  And if those who follow him today suddenly dropped him, he'd morph into somebody else so he'd still attract a following

A needy, obsessed, angry man has no business in the White House.  I pray we come to our senses before November.

I wonder how long it will be before he starts getting death threats from Trump supporters. 

It took less than 24 hours for a Jewish writer to get flooded with calls to burn at Auschwitz after writing a negative story about Trump's wife.

Gotta love the modern Republican party... 'liberated' from the shackles of PC to say what they want.  And that's what they want.

Offline kartographer

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I hope someone gives a damn about this man and his story. It reflects upon on our military and how our military (the most patriotic Americans) includes Muslims, Hispanics, people of all faiths and beliefs that serve because of the powerful words of my country comes first!  His son gave his life for his fellow soldiers and his country. I thank you for posting the video.

Sergeant 'Buster' Kilrain: Well, if you mean the race, I don't really know. This is not a thing to be ashamed of. The thing is, you cannot judge a race. Any man who judges by the group is a pea-wit. You take men one at a time.
Charley Waite: "Well you may not know this, but there's things that gnaw at a man worse than dying."

Offline unknown

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If I had my way, not another Muslim would be allowed to immigrate to this country.  I realize that is unconstitutional...:


 :shrug: **nononono*

Where do people come up with this crap?!?


I won't be here after the election and vote.

If Hillary wins - I will be busy, BLOAT! (It won't be long before she won't let you buy.)

If Trump wins, I won't be here to GLOAT. (I don't want to hang around while everyone looks at every speck in his eye.)

Offline Suppressed

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Offline WAC

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It is a poignant speech and I thank Khizr Khan for serving our country with such distinction.  I understand what the man is saying and in a sane world, I would support his stance.
But it is not a sane world.  We have Muslims all over the world wanting to kill us.  There are daily terrorist killings in Europe now.  While many Muslims are indeed good people, there are many that are not.  Do we risk sacrificing our own to do the right thing for those that wish us no harm?
I prefer not to do so.  If I had my way, not another Muslim would be allowed to immigrate to this country.  I realize that is unconstitutional, but they should at least utilize the lottery system like everyone else instead of being given a free pass to come here by the bazillions and kill us.
Sorry.  I know that makes me heartless, but that is my stance.

Well stated...and I agree. And it does not make you heartless at all, on the contrary shows a large heart for the safety of the citizens of this country. ''

It is not we who need to bend to the Muslim community as is so often stated. It is THEY who need to bend to their own communities and hold out the Constitution to Muslims, which does not mean you use it to force other Americans to adopt Islamic traditions and habits, nor accomodating them because Islamic law requires it.  Which is abusing the Constitution, our courts and our nation. You don't get to create an Islamic state inside our states.




Offline WAC

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Where do people come up with this crap?!?

Easy...when the Military Arm of Islam declares war on this country that is reason enough in itself to be more than cautious....waving a Constitution means nothing to most Muslim's unless they can use it against someone. ..Islamic Law always trumps any nations otherwise laws...and they know it.

A soldier shared that people don't understand what it is like for our soldiers fighting along side muslims in our military.  They are guarded and worry because they never know that someones allah ackbar son who has joined our military, may go off at any given moment.




Offline TomSea

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Let's see; Denmark has a population of 6 million, 270,000 Muslims. Now, I gather we can say it is a different situation?

Quote
(AP) -- Denmark should halt immigration from Muslim countries to stem the threat of violence from extremists, the nation's second-largest party argued Thursday.

The deputy party leader of the anti-immigrant Danish People's Party, Soeren Espersen, and other officials said the existing 270,000 Muslims in Denmark, a country of less than 6 million people, already posed a severe risk of harboring sympathizers to the Islamic State militant group.

More: http://www.aina.org/news/20160729101105.htm

Quote
"Islam is a belligerent religion. One should not be blind that many who commit terror find inspiration in Islam. That is why there is a connection between the number of Muslims in a country and the general security risk," Henriksen said.

But France and Germany too, have been racked with violence per the refugee population.

Trump only spoke until we can work things out.  How would want feel about being in those two countries above?

We don't need to have "no go zones" and such before we get the message.

In turn, the Charlie Hebdo shooters killed a Muslim police officer in France; do we say because of this  sacrifice by this police officer, as noble as it was now meand we should not have limits on Muslim immigration?
« Last Edit: July 30, 2016, 07:19:49 am by TomSea »

Offline TomSea

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Creative headlines by the OP are shameful to push across this anti-Trump propaganda.

Say its shameful to all the victims daily of radical Islamic violence.

Online Hoodat

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Creative headlines by the OP are shameful to push across this anti-Trump propaganda.

Propaganda?  Did they say something untrue about Trump?  Did he, or did he not call for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States?

Don't everyone else for what came out of your Democrat's mouth.  You knew Trump was this way since Day One.  You knew that he couldn't help himself from saying stupid thing after stupid thing after stupid thing.  You knew he was incapable of being honest.  You knew he was a pompous ass.  You knew that of all the Republican candidates that he had the weakest one-on-one numbers against Hillary.  You knew he was a liberal who embraced liberal policies.  You knew he held the Constitution in contempt.  You knew his solution to everything was even bigger government.  Yet you supported him anyway.

If you couldn't see this coming even after being told this multiple times each day for over 400 days in a row,  .  .  .
« Last Edit: July 30, 2016, 10:13:33 am by Hoodat »
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Offline Suppressed

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@Unlimited

From watching what has happened in Europe.  I don't want it here in the US.

If you'd watched what happened in the 1960s and 1970s, you'd have seen more than a million Turks move to (West) Germany.  Muslims.

And you'd have witnessed the Wirtschaftswunder ("economic miracle"), made possible by this immigration.

In fact, so many Turks came in, to this day, 1 in 20 people in what was West Germany is a Turk.  Surely, with so many Muslim immigrants, there would be tales of a huge wave of violence like we hear of today!  But no, there aren't.

The problem they have now isn't "Muslims"... but violent, outlaw Muslims.

But Trump judges people and beliefs, not behavior and actions.
« Last Edit: July 30, 2016, 08:41:32 am by Suppressed »
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“In the outside world, I'm a simple geologist. But in here .... I am Falcor, Defender of the Alliance” --Randy Marsh

“The most effectual means of being secure against pain is to retire within ourselves, and to suffice for our own happiness.” -- Thomas Jefferson

“He's so dumb he thinks a Mexican border pays rent.” --Foghorn Leghorn

Online kevindavis007

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If you'd watched what happened in the 1960s and 1970s, you'd have seen more than a million Turks move to (West) Germany.  Muslims.

And you'd have witnessed the Wirtschaftswunder ("economic miracle"), made possible by this immigration.

In fact, so many Turks came in, to this day, 1 in 20 people in what was West Germany is a Turk.  Surely, with so many Muslim immigrants, there would be tales of a huge wave of violence like we hear of today!  But no, there aren't.

The problem they have now isn't "Muslims"... but violent, outlaw Muslims.

But Trump judges people and beliefs, not behavior and actions.

Call me old fashion, but I judge a person by their character.
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If you'd watched what happened in the 1960s and 1970s, you'd have seen more than a million Turks move to (West) Germany.  Muslims.

And you'd have witnessed the Wirtschaftswunder ("economic miracle"), made possible by this immigration.

In fact, so many Turks came in, to this day, 1 in 20 people in what was West Germany is a Turk.  Surely, with so many Muslim immigrants, there would be tales of a huge wave of violence like we hear of today!  But no, there aren't.

The problem they have now isn't "Muslims"... but violent, outlaw Muslims.

But Trump judges people and beliefs, not behavior and actions.

Well said.

goopo