Humayun Saqib Muazzam Khan (9 September 1976 – 8 June 2004) was a United States Army officer who was killed by a suicide attack near Baqubah, Iraq during the Iraq War. He came to national attention in the United States during the 2016 presidential campaign as an example of a Muslim American soldier who died in service to the U.S. military.
On 8 June 2004, 120 days[2] into his tour of duty in Iraq,[3] Khan was inspecting a guard post near Baqubah when a suspicious taxicab began approaching quickly. Ordering his subordinates away, Khan ran toward the vehicle and was killed when the bomb in it exploded.[3][4][5] The car detonated before it could reach the installation gates or the nearby mess hall where hundreds of soldiers were eating.[4] The blast also killed the two occupants of the vehicle and two Iraqi bystanders.[8]
The first University of Virginia graduate to die in combat since the Vietnam War, Khan was honored by two university ceremonies.[6] Khan was also posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal and the Purple Heart.[3] Khan was also honored by the Virginia General Assembly, which passed a resolution noting "with great sadness the loss of a courageous and patriotic American."[5]
In 2018, RepresentativeTom Garrett introduced a bill that would name a Charlottesville, Virginiapost office after Khan. Both houses of the 115th United States Congress unanimously passed the bill, and President Trump signed it into law on 21 December 2018. A joint statement by Virginia senators, Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, said, "With the dedication of [the Captain Humayun Khan Post Office], we're showing the Khan family that we're forever grateful for his service and sacrifice for our country".[13] The post office was officially renamed on 9 September 2019 during a ceremony attended by Kaine and other politicians.[14]
Khan's parents appeared at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, where his father, Khizr Khan, spoke of his dead son and rebuked the Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump, for his statements about Muslims and his proposed policies concerning them.[15][16][17][18] Trump criticized the appearance of Khan's parents at the Democratic Convention, and suggested that Khan's mother may not have been allowed to speak. Trump's comments about Khan's mother, Ghazala, sparked widespread condemnation[19][20][21][22][23] and triggered her response as an op-ed in The Washington Post. On 31 July 2016, Ghazala Khan expressed her thoughts and said she had been too overcome by emotion at the convention to speak at the podium. She wrote, "Donald Trump said I had nothing to say. I do. My son Humayun Khan, an Army captain, died 12 years ago in Iraq. He loved America..."[24]
Republican leaders Speaker of the HousePaul Ryan and Senate Majority LeaderMitch McConnell criticized Trump's comments. A strong rebuke came from US SenatorJohn McCain from Arizona; the former presidential candidate said that Trump did not represent the ideals of the Republican Party and its leaders.[25]Veterans of Foreign Wars followed with a statement saying, "Election year or not, the VFW will not tolerate anyone berating a Gold Star family member for exercising his or her right of speech or expression."[26]
^Timsit, Annabelle (29 July 2016). "Seven Minutes That Shook the Convention". Politico. Archived from the original on 30 July 2016. Retrieved 2 September 2024. How the father of a slain Muslim U.S. soldier shamed Donald Trump, upstaged Hillary Clinton and gave the country a lesson in values.
