The Gold Star father who has become an outspoken critic of Trump is coming to Raleigh

Khizr Khan, the Gold Star father who criticized Donald Trump in a speech at the 2016 Democratic National Convention and said this week that the Trump administration had mishandled a controversy over the president’s military condolence calls, will make a book tour stop in Raleigh on Nov. 7.

Khan is a native of Pakistan who moved to the United States with his wife in 1980. The couple raised three sons, one of whom graduated from the University of Virginia and its Army ROTC program. Humayun Khan later became a U.S. Army captain, and was killed while stopping a suicide attack near Baqubah, Iraq, in 2004.

After his death, Humayun Khan was awarded a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star.

In his speech at the DNC where he appeared in support of Hillary Clinton, Khan said that if it had been up to then-presidential candidate Trump, he and his family would never have been in America.

“He vows to build walls and ban us from this country,” Khan said of Trump. He asked whether Trump had ever read the U.S. Constitution and, pulling a pocket version out of his jacket, said, “I will gladly lend you my copy.”

Trump responded to Khan’s remarks by saying Khizr Khan had delivered the speech because his wife was not “allowed” to speak.

Trump’s comments were seen as insulting to American Muslims.

This week, Khan launches a tour to promote two new books. “An American Family: A Memoir of Hope and Sacrifice” tells the story of his upbringing in Pakistan, his immigration to the America whose Declaration of Independence inspired him, and the loss of his son. On Tuesday, Khan’s book for children aged 10 and up also hit stores. “This is Our Constitution: Discover America with a Gold Star Father,” explains the document one section at a time.

Quail Ridge Books is sponsoring Khan’s appearance in Raleigh.

Rene Martin, events coordinator for the store, who also has a son who served in the military in Iraq, said “An American Family” is notable for its account “of the American ideal of pulling yourself up by the bootstraps.” It’s also a reminder, Martin said, of the valuable role that immigrants, including Muslims, have played in U.S. society.

At a time when U.S. politicians on opposite sides of issues all are claiming to defend the Constitution, both books celebrate the uniquely American document. “From the first moment he saw the Constitution, he thought it was an amazing document,” Martin said of Khan. “We live with it, so we take it for granted. He allows us to see it again, and to appreciate the great freedoms we have guaranteed there. It’s like seeing something for the very first time.”

Khan will be at Pullen Memorial Baptist Church on Hillsborough Street at 7 p.m. on Nov. 7. You can register for the event at http://nando.com/4yl. If you buy a copy of his book from Quail Ridge Books, you’ll receive a ticket to the signing line.

This story was originally published October 24, 2017 at 12:55 PM with the headline "The Gold Star father who has become an outspoken critic of Trump is coming to Raleigh."