President Joe Biden has appointed Khizr Khan, on Friday, as the Commissioner of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. The 71-year-old American Muslim is the father of American veteran Humayun Khan. The 24-year-old United States Army Officer lost his life in a car bomb attack in Iraq on 2004.
Khizr Khan is the founder of the Constitution Literacy and National Unity Project. He is a resident of Charlottesville in Virginia. He will be one among the six commissioners of the organization, which will defend the freedom of religion internationally. It will also review cases where there is an infringement on religious freedom.
The White House described him as “an advocate for religious freedom as a core element of human dignity.” The administration also said that Khan had spent a lot of time helping veterans, men and women who were serving as well as families of those who served or who were in uniform with legal services.
The White House also said that the announcement on Friday also underscored President Biden’s commitment to build an administration that showcases the diversity of America as it “reflects people of all faiths.”
In July 2016, Khizr Khan gave a rousing speech at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. He said that his son would not have been able to live in America nor would have been able to die as an American hero if it had been up to Trump. Trump had previously said that he supported banning the entry of Muslims to America. He had also endorsed Biden in the 2020 elections.
According to the New York Times, in 2016, Trump had disparaged and dismissed Khan and said that Mrs. Khan had not spoken as she wasn’t “allowed” to speak. These comments increased many persons’ antipathy towards Trump and his policies; however, he went on to win the 2016 presidential elections.
After Trump’s dismissive comments Khizr Khan said that Trump had sacrificed “nothing and no one” for his country. He also said that the presidential nominee, as Trump was at that period of time, could not feel the pain of a mother who had sacrificed a son’s life. The Purple Heart and Bronze Star with Valor were posthumously awarded to Captain Humayun Khan.
Image Lorie Shaull
