American Pluralism Will Triumph
By Patrick Burnett
Program Coordinator to Ambassador Akbar Ahmed
American University
Washington
Khizr Khan, whose speech at the Democratic National Convention in July 2016 touched America at its core, is a gentle, learned soul. He is a man who will look you straight in the eye and speak to you directly from his heart - even if he only met you mere hours prior. He will shower the child of a total stranger with the very love he would shower his own sons. And in an environment of heightened Islamophobia across America, he, as a Muslim-American, may have saved America from itself with his poignant public remarks.
On September 17, I had the distinct honor and pleasure of having afternoon tea with Khizr Khan in the home of my mentor and professor, Ambassador Akbar Ahmed, the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at American University. I have had the privilege of accompanying Ahmed for many meetings with distinguished figures since joining the Chair; none, however, held the same aura as this quiet living room tea with Ahmed and his gracious Muslim-American family, including accomplished attorney Umar Ahmed, peace education pioneer Dr Amineh Hoti, filmmaker Babar Ahmed, interfaith practitioner Melody Fox Ahmed, and top real estate agent Zeenat Ahmed, on an early fall afternoon in Suburban Washington.
Immediately upon entering the home, Khan approached each member of the Ahmed family; Ibn Khaldun Chair Senior Research Assistant Frankie Martin; Mr Masood Ahmed, retiring Director of the IMF Middle East and Central Asia Department and forthcoming president of the Center for Global Development; and myself, shaking each of our hands firmly and gracefully. And even in the midst of the Ahmeds’ two young grandchildren running endless laps through the house, he paused to embrace both of them, exclaiming of how each child touched his heart.
Despite his recent rise to celebrity, Khan remains a thoughtful, reflective man who has never lost sight of those who inspired him to be a courageous, humble leader. In reflecting on the figures who have inspired him throughout his life, Khan spoke of his admiration for Rumi, Gandhi, Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Thomas Jefferson. He told us of how the life of the Prophet Muhammad is an example for all of humanity to follow. But in a move that visibly moved everyone in the room, he spoke repeatedly of the inspiration he has long sought from the day’s host - Ahmed himself.
Khan, a native of Pakistan, repeatedly called this visit to the Ahmed home his “hajj”, or pilgrimage, to come and sit with his great teacher. Khan spoke of how Ahmed’s words, “spoken and written had been at the bottom of my heart and had been in my soul and in the courage that sometimes an ordinary person like myself musters to stand up.” Khan even alluded to the great Sufi poet, Rumi, in exclaiming of Ahmed, “When you look at a beautiful blooming tree, always your appreciation for that beautiful tree is not complete unless you think of those who have watered it, those who have cared for it, and those who have planted it. And such are my sentiments towards Professor Akbar Ahmed.”
Ahmed, the former Pakistani High Commissioner to the UK and Ireland and senior member of the Civil Service of Pakistan, had a storied career in Pakistan and the UK in the decades prior to moving to the US in 2000. As a young American student of Ahmed’s, I have long been keenly aware of his beautiful spirit, a spirit that guides so many of us to fight for peace and justice in this world. But it is easy to lose sight in the day-to-day of working with Ahmed to actively build bridges in this tense climate what a deep impact he has had over the last decades on so many in his homeland in Pakistan, here in the US, and around the world. To hear a man of such great stature showering such warmth, affinity and affection on Ahmed, telling of his long admiration for his work, left me simply speechless and affirmed the value of the work performed daily by the Chair.
Ahmed himself discovered a deep connection with Khan in their mutual love of the Prophet, Rumi, Jinnah, Gandhi, and particularly Jefferson, who articulated a profound vision of a pluralist society that lives on in America today. Ahmed spoke of concluding his film, Journey into America (2009), on the steps of Monticello. Khan spoke with a glimmer in his eyes of living just down-slope from Monticello.
Khan touched repeatedly upon his own identity as an American and his belief of how immigrants and Muslim-Americans like himself seamlessly fit into the fabric of our great nation. In case anyone has any doubts as to Khan’s loyalty to the United States, all one needs to do is read his unprompted words about his affinity for our great nation: “This is our country. This is the country of our children. […] We’re responsible for its safety, its goodness.”
The Khans’ active support of the Army ROTC community at the University of Virginia, where all three of their sons attended school, is yet another example of Khan’s dedication to this nation. Every year, the Khans invite UVA’s commissioning cadets to their home for a celebration. For most, as Khan explained, it is the first time they have visited a Muslim home, and many go on to remark on its stunning similarities to their parents’ and grandparents’ homes. A connection between this Muslim family and these non-Muslim cadets is immediately established. And every year, for the last ten years, when the class of cadets arrives at the home, Khan presents each cadet a copy of the Constitution, to remind them of the values for which they fight and sacrifice - just like his dear son, Humayun.
When asked to discuss how he believes relations between Muslims and non-Muslims can be strengthened, he pointed to Ahmed’s very own advice that one as an immigrant should never just sit in a cocoon, but rather participate in one’s communities and actively participate in community gatherings and functions. Khan implored his fellow Muslim-Americans to invite their non-Muslim neighbors and friends for holidays and visit their neighbors’ own holiday celebrations.
Yet, even as tensions grow between communities and peoples across the nation, Khan remains hopeful for the future of America, even going so far as to remark, “This is a flicker of darkness that inshallah will pass.”
Perhaps what struck me most about this memorable afternoon was witnessing Khan, the great lawyer, orator, and student of the Constitution, Jefferson, and Rumi, who sees the Prophet Muhammad as a man every person can learn from, sitting side-by-side with Ahmed, the great scholar-teacher who has dedicated his life to building bridges between the West and the Muslim World. These two Muslim-American men deeply embody the core principles that drive our nation - liberty, justice, and dignity for all - both in their faith traditions and in their practices as citizens and proud Americans. Their words should be heeded by Americans of all faith traditions in fighting for a more perfect union, not just in the 2016 elections, but in all struggles we are yet to face. They may be Muslim, but they are as American as they come. Islamophobia has nothing on the wisdom of such great sages as Ahmed and Khan.
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