Khizr Khan, the Gold Star father who brandished the Constitution at the Democratic convention, will publish a memoir

By Michael Schaub

Nov. 23, 2016 9:35 AM PT

Khizr Khan, the Pakistani American lawyer and Gold Star father whose fiery speech at the Democratic National Convention was a significant moment in the presidential campaign, will write a memoir about his life story and the death of his son, Army Capt. Humayun Khan, in the Iraq war.

“I still remember so clearly first falling in love with the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, and what they promised,” Khan said in a news release from Random House, which will publish the memoir. “In this book, I hope to share our experience coming and living here as a family.”

Khan and his wife, Ghazala, who will contribute to the memoir, were born and raised in Pakistan and immigrated to the U.S. in 1980, becoming American citizens six years later.

Their son Humayun Khan was slain in Iraq in 2004, after he ran toward a taxi cab that was approaching the soldiers under his command. The cab contained a bomb that exploded, killing Khan, while the other soldiers remained safe. Khan was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star.

Khizr Khan, whose family is Muslim, spoke at the Democratic National Convention in July, harshly criticizing Donald Trump’s hard-line stance against Muslim immigration.

“Donald Trump, you’re asking Americans to trust you with their future. Let me ask you, have you even read the United States Constitution?” Khan said, producing a pocket Constitution from his jacket pocket. “I will gladly lend you my copy. In this document, look for the words ‘liberty’ and ‘equal protection of law.’”

Khan later starred in a television ad for Hillary Clinton, where he discussed his son’s killing in Iraq. “He was 27 years old and he was a Muslim American,” Khan said in the commercial, his voice breaking. “I want to ask Mr. Trump, would my son have a place in your America?”

In the release about his book, Khan said, “It is a sincere effort to honor the countless requests we continue to receive to tell a complete story of our journey and to detail the American values of which we have spoken. We are grateful for the opportunity to so proudly share with our American friends, regardless of political affiliation, and the rest of the world, our continued faith and belief in the innate goodness of America, even in these challenging times.”

Khan’s memoir, as yet untitled, will be published in the fall of 2017.