At the Democratic National Convention last week, American Muslim Khizr Khan, father of fallen U.S. soldier, Capt. Humayun Khan, gave a powerful speech criticizing Donald Trump. Khan spoke of his family’s unwavering patriotism in light of their son’s service in the 2004 Iraq War. He urged his fellow Americans to reject divisiveness and fear in favor of unity and sacrifice to the nation. Addressing Trump directly, Khan asked, “Have you ever been to Arlington Cemetery? 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.” During the speech, Khan’s wife, Ghazala, remained silent, the pain of the loss of her son palpable in her eyes.
Whatever one’s opinions on the Iraq war, it seemed impossible to deny the Americanness of Khizr and Ghazala Khan. Yet Donald Trump, ever the entertainer, found a way to do so. Drawing upon racist and orientalist stereotypes about Muslim women, Trump asserted that perhaps Ghazala Khan “wasn’t allowed to have anything to say.” Such a suggestion not only rejects the agency of Muslim women, but also ignores their countless contributions to the social fabric of America: Today, Muslim women stand on the front lines of health care, education, civil rights law, social activism and public policy work. Muslim women have been vocal about a myriad of social issues, including human trafficking and world hunger. Fighting for women’s rights around the globe, Muslim women have even taken bullets to secure education for other women and young girls.
Far from saying nothing, Ghazala Khan’s sorrow spoke volumes. She brought to mind the image of my own mother, whose story of American citizenship reaches back to the Indo-Pakistani war of 1971. My mother would recount memories of hiding under trucks immersed in mud, struggling to escape to safety. My mother’s immigration to this country was an act of strength. Even today, her resolve to wear her traditional Pakistani garb, shalwar kameez, to work every day in spite of occasional comments from ignorant passersby reflects her strength. She is a strong Pakistani American Muslim woman, upon whose backbone our family was raised, and she, like Ghazala Khan, knows a thing or two about sacrifice.
But beyond a disparagement of American Muslim women like my mother, Trump’s rhetoric betrays a dangerous assumption- one that allows no space for an American Muslim identity. For Trump and his ilk, it does not matter that Muslims participate in all levels of society, and even serve in the government and military - it is still not enough to prove their “Americanness.” There is simply no room in Trump’s conception of a “great” country for an American Muslim: you are either American or Muslim, but you cannot be both. So long as you are Muslim, your nationality and citizenship will be under scrutiny and threat. Trump has suggested countless national security measures that would blatantly compromise the rights of American Muslims. And ultimately, for Khizr and Ghazala Khan, the epitome of sacrifice to this country is not sufficient to stifle doubts about whether they espouse un-American values.
So, to my fellow Americans and American Muslims: Let us abandon the hope of petitioning Trump with appeals to reason and fact. We cannot reason with a man who bases his notion of national belonging on a premise of intolerance and bigotry. There is no point in attempting to prove our worth to a bully who has called for a database of all Muslims, has accused us of cheering on 9/11, and has threatened to ban us from this country. Rather, we must recognize Trump for what he is: a mere entertainer. Trump has more than once revealed his power tactic: “all press is good press.” And thus far, Trump’s clickbait attempts to acquire media ratings are successful for no other reason than our collective addiction to distraction and spectacle. Our only solution is to refuse this form of dark entertainment, the repercussions of which dangerously threaten not just Muslims, but all minorities and women. Vote wisely in the coming election, and remember that Trump’s performance can no longer be tolerated- he must be booed off stage.