“I recently became aware that Canada doesn’t label new immigrants aliens but new Canadians. Trump and his administration should learn from Canada.” Khizr Khan

Last summer, Harvard-educated lawyer Khizr Khan gave a speech to the Democratic National Convention about his son Humayan, a captain in the U.S. army who died stopping a suicide bomber. Khan noted that U.S. President Donald Trump had sacrificed nothing.

“Donald Trump consistently smears the character of Muslims, he disrespects minorities, women, judges, even his own party leadership. He wants to build walls and ban us from this country,” he said.

Trump later called Khan “very emotional” and suggested he didn’t allow his wife Ghazala to speak because of their religion.

But Khan’s voice turned out to be one that resonated. He has gone on to become one of the president’s most potent critics. He will be in Toronto on Tuesday to talk about why he won’t be silenced.

When did you come to the U.S.?

I was born in Pakistan and worked in Dubai to save money to come to the U.S. to finish my studies. I arrived in 1980. I went to Harvard Law School. I became a citizen in 1986.

Tell me about your son.

My son Humayan was a captain in the U.S. army. He gave his life to stop a suicide bomber approaching his troops in Iraq in 2004.

We were blessed to have him for 27 years. It was very difficult to lose him. We continue to operate under his legacy: caring for others, even to your own peril. That is how he spent the last breath of his life.

Did you ever imagine you’d become a celebrity advocate?

Not really. I thought I’d return to my private life. But that has not been the case. It’s been an amazing journey. I get offers outside the U.S. I have invitations to go to Sweden, Germany, Oxford. Japan television has been four times to our home. People want to know what are these values I talk about: equal values and due process. They are interested in our constitutional system of government. This clown in the White House needs to become serious and change course. The rest of the world is watching. We shall continue to talk and raise our voice.

Trump is continuing with his efforts to keep Muslims out of the country and to ban citizens from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Just last week he said: “We are going to keep radical Islamic terrorists the hell out of our country,” Trump said. What do you make of that?

Trump has said he wants to impose a Muslim ban. He came up with a nonsensical executive order which the courts rejected. To make it even more childish, now he says he’ll come up with a new executive order.

As a patriotic American, I am all for the safety and security of our country. But Trump is going about it the wrong way. He is putting the lives of men and women serving in Muslim countries at risk and alienating local Muslims and strengthening our enemies.

Instead, Trump should heed the advice of experts who have dedicated their lives to security and safety. When our armed forces and CIA go to fight terrorism abroad, they rely on local people supporting them. Our intelligence officers need to assure them that the U.S. values pluralism and equal dignity for all and they will be protected if they migrate to U.S.

Are Muslims being unfairly targeted?

Yes. In the past, it was other communities who were vulnerable: Irish-Americans, Jews, Catholics. They have all gone through difficult times. This is Muslim-Americans’ time to face challenges and we will come through it successfully. I recently became aware that Canada doesn’t label new immigrants aliens but new Canadians. Trump and his administration should learn from Canada.

The Trump administration also blocked major news organizations from a briefing Feb. 24, escalating his war on the press. He called the media is the “enemy of the people.” What do you make of that?

He is diverting attention from the media’s criticism of Russian influence in his campaign. Only the media works to uncover the truth about investments in his businesses and links to Russia. You can’t have democracy without a free and independent press. That is the fourth pillar, along with the judiciary, legislative and executive branches of government. Trump has been also been maligning judges and their independence if they don’t rule in his favour. Don’t fall for it.

Trump has also singled out Mexico, pledging to build a wall on the southern border and make Mexico pay, as well as insisting on deporting millions of undocumented immigrants to Mexico.

We need to tell the people who have supported Donald Trump that if this policy toward Mexico continues, there will be serious repercussions to trade, to the markets for their agricultural products, and to their security. The cotton growers of U.S., some of whom voted for him, are worried their cotton will not be exported to Mexico. Mexico is the U.S.’s biggest customer, and cannot be alienated.

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Do you worry about your personal security?

We were advised by our well wishers not to speak out. But we feel obliged. We are worried about Hispanic children, Muslim children who say ‘I was born here, is it possible my parents will be thrown out?’

The immature, heartless administration will take us through very tumultuous times. We will continue to speak out and I do it pro bono. That’s all a patriotic citizen can do. We have taken precautions and we are very, very careful. But we have to take some risks.

Khizr Khan is giving a lunchtime speech on Tuesday as part of the Ramsay Talks series. Noon at The Carlu. Tickets $89. https://www.ramsaytalks.com/ ramsaytalks.com END

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