Niraj Warikoo

Detroit Free Press

Khizr Khan: "Nobody can question my patriotism. Nobody can question ... my being an American."

Khizr Khan spoke to more than 800 in Dearborn, imploring crowd to vote in November for their future

Visiting Dearborn this week to speak to Arab Americans, Khizr Khan, the Gold Star father who slammed Donald Trump at the Democratic National Convention, said voters should choose American values when deciding this November.

Khan and his wife, Ghazala Khan — whose son Capt. Humayun Khan was killed while serving with the U.S. Army in Iraq in 2004 — received an award Thursday night from the Arab American Civil Rights League, which held its annual banquet in Dearborn.

A Muslim immigrant from Pakistan, Khan drew national attention for his speech in July at the convention in which he blasted Trump for attacking Muslim Americans and other minorities. Pulling a copy of the U.S. Constitution from his pocket, Khan sought to portray the Republican presidential nominee as someone who didn't understand American laws and values.

At the Dearborn banquet, a copy of the Constitution was placed near the plates of every guest, echoing the pocket Constitution that Khan, an attorney, pulled out at the Democratic convention. Speaking Thursday night to more than 800 at the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center, Khizr Khan urged the crowd to vote in November to protect their rights and the futures of their children.

"For their sake, participate," Khan said to the crowd in Dearborn. "I implore you to think what is at stake. At stake is your dignity, your liberty, your right to equal protection of the law. ... In this election, every vote counts, every vote matters."

Khan's visit comes in the middle of a heated presidential election race in which Muslim-Americans have often been in the spotlight, like when Trump called for a ban on all Muslims entering the U.S. Democrats have campaigned in cities like Dearborn to appeal to Arab-Americans. Last month, Huma Abedin, a Michigan native who's Muslim of South Asian descent and a close aide to Hillary Clinton, spoke in Dearborn to Arab-American and Muslim leaders.

Khan started his remarks by thanking Americans serving in the military and law enforcement:

"First, our thoughts and prayers are with the young men and women who wear the uniform in defense of this country, and those in law enforcement, patriotic citizens that sit among us here."

He then urged people to vote and also to be caring towards refugees.

"What is at stake are the challenges that we face today, the goodness of America," Khan said. "These challenges have to be defeated with such a force, with such a majority, that our children never have to listen to the talk that we have been subjected to. So, for their sake, participate in this election wholeheartedly. Take your friends with you, take your relatives."

Khan didn't name any candidates specifically, but appeared to be saying to reject Trump

One candidate "is for the values of this country and its foundation, which is pluralism...the value of equal dignity," Khan said. "On the other hand, we have a candidate who espouses bigotry, misogynistic attitudes and ideas. We are not for that. We are not for building walls, we are not for division."

Khan was given a rousing introduction by Rev. Wendell Anthony, who heads the Detroit Branch NAACP.

Khan "reached inside the pocket of your spirit to grab the brush called the Constitution," Anthony bellowed about Khan's talk at the Democratic convention. "We don't want the dust of racism to settle on our rights...we don't want the dust of anything that divides us."

Other honorees included the Rev. Fr. George Shalhoub of the Basilica of St. Mary in Livonia and Amr Moussa, former secretary-general of the Arab League, who called for democracy and rights for all in the Middle East.

Speaking Wednesday night to the Free Press from his hotel, Khan praised American values of pluralism, the rule of law, and progress. He also praised Dearborn — where more than 40% of the city's residents are Arab-American Muslims — as a model city where people of different backgrounds come together.

"When we vote on the day of election, we put our vote in the ballot box, I want all my friends to remember one thing: Remind yourself, are you voting for the true values of this country, which is pluralism, laws, prosperity, moving forward, leadership of the world?" Khan said to the Free Press. "Or we are voting for those who oppose those basic fundamental goodness of the United States?"

In the Free Press interview (see video clips at end of this article), Khan did not mention any specific candidates, but spoke generally about his message during a tense election season in which Muslims and other minorities have often been attacked, which Khan called "vote pandering."

Dearborn "is a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful pluralistic community where all faiths and religions and cultures and ethnicities live together, enjoy the city and the environment," Khan said. "The richness of the culture is exemplary. I wish we had more cities ... like Dearborn where tolerance, patience, multicultural, holding each other's hands to move forward, was practiced."

"This city is a model for the rest of the world to see how people live together with one concern, and that is well-being of each other."

Khan those thoughts at the banquet, telling the crowd that in Dearborn, "interfaith relations in this community are exemplary, the interracial relations. I want to take this example of this city wherever I go. I shall speak and I shall cite your example to the rest of the country, to the rest of the world. "

"This is the best of America."

Khan was attacked after his speech at the convention by Trump supporters for allegedly being an extremist. He said he's not bothered by the attacks.

"Not at all," Khan said. "I mean, if ignorance begins to bother you, then you will be bothered every day and every minute. So no, not at all. It's their ignorance that they contradict themselves. One person says one thing. The second person says a different thing, which is contradictory to that. Nobody can question our patriotism. Nobody can question my patriotism. Nobody can question my being in America or my being an American."

Khan said he was motivated to speak at the convention after hearing increasing anxiety over the past year from young Muslims asking questions like: "Are they going to throw us out of this country? I was born here. I don't know any other country? Are my parents going to be thrown out? Will I be left alone here? Can I finish my school?"

Khan said one of the core American values "is pluralism, meaning all religions, all faiths, all nationalities come to live in one city happily, and prosper and move forward and become an example for the rest of the country and rest of the world."

Gold Star family that took on Donald Trump to speak in Dearborn

Khan said that he hopes some of the campaign rhetoric will end after the election.

"Hopefully, those who are doing this for vote pandering will stop as soon as the election is over, and then we would have lots of cleaning up to do," Khan said. "After that, we will have lots of repair in the damage to the institutions but I am hopeful because we are accustomed to the American decency, American foundation, basic values. This is a decent, generous country and we will have to do lots of cleaning up but we are looking forward to moving forward."

Nasser Beydoun, chairman of the Arab American Civil Rights League, said "it was very important for us to include Mr. and Mrs. Khan as we continue conversations of race and inclusion at a vital time in our country's history."

Speaking at the banquet, Beydoun said "I want to focus on the idea of hope," but at the same time, "we see an America that is divided," and where "Muslims in America are more hated...than after the attacks of 9-11."

Khan said that America values immigrants and the rule of law.

"We are all immigrants ... with the exception of American Indians," he said. "We should remember that, that this country is made of immigrants ... but it is a country of laws as well. There are laws that we all must follow."

Khan said that public service was important for his late son, who was born in Pakistan and moved to the U.S. when he was 2 along with his parents. Capt. Khan was killed in Iraq while trying to protect his fellow soldiers from suicide bombers, earning him posthumously a Purple Heart and Bronze Star.

"Public service was his priority," Khan said. "That became his character: serving others, looking after others, taking care of others. Anyone that was under his command, under his jurisdiction, under his responsibility became his priority. Their well-being became his priority."

"These are American values that he grew up with and he did not hesitate to step forward under very, very dangerous circumstances at his peril, but he stood strong and he stood fast, and at the cost of his life in protecting others and defending others and defending the Constitution, and defending the oath of office that he took that he will be loyal to the Constitution, that he will be loyal to the country and he will be loyal to his oath of office."

Muslims in Michigan defend Gold Star family feuding with Donald Trump

At the Dearborn banquet, Khan urged the public to help refugees.

It's important "that we care for one another," Khan said. "It is out obligation. Fulfill your responsibilities, welcoming your brother, your sister to your home is a moral, ethical, and religious obligation."

Khan also touched upon his faith, saying that Islam teaches to not harm others.

"As a Muslim, I remind myself, in 2nd chapter of the Holy Quran," there is a verse that "teaches that our Creator has created every human being as a steward to this earth."

Islam's prophet said in his final sermon that "you are a trustee of life and property of others," Khan said. "Do no harm to others and no harm will come to you, and that is the message of Islam."

Addressing the Dearborn crowd, Khan added: "You practice that. I have witnessed that: the true message of our prophet. If he saw this gathering today, I assure you he will be so pleased to see the true religion of Islam being practiced in this hall, in this community."

Contact Niraj Warikoo: nwarikoo@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @nwarikoo.

View below some video clips from an interview by the Free Press with Khizr Khan in Dearborn: