Ghazala Khan, mother of slain Muslim soldier, says Trump 'ignorant' about Islam

The mother of a U.S.Muslim soldier who was killed in Iraq castigated RepublicanDonald Trump on Sunday as ignorant of Islam and of sacrificeafter he questioned her silence during her husband's speech atthe Democratic National Convention.

Ghazala Khan, whose son, U.S. Army Capt. Humayun Khan, waskilled by a suicide bomber in Iraqin 2004, bristled at Trump's implication she was silentbecause she, as a Muslim woman, had not been allowed to speak.

Trump speculated in an ABC News interview, with excerpts posted on Saturday,that she remained silent during the event last Thursdaybecause, "maybe she wasn't allowed to have anything tosay."

The following day during an interview withMSNBC, GhazalaKhan saidshe didn't speak because she's still overwhelmed with grief.

"When Donald Trump is talking about Islam, he is ignorant,"she wrote in a Washington Post opinion piece appearing online Sunday. "Donald Trump saidhe has made a lot of sacrifices. He doesn't know what the wordsacrifice means."

• Father of fallen Muslim U.S. soldier, blasts Trump
• Trump to Khizr Khan: 'I've made a lot of sacrifices'

Her husband, KhizrKhan, also weighed in afterTrump's response.He said he appreciates that Trump called his son a hero, but he finds the Republican presidentialnominee "disingenuous" because of his policies and his rhetoric.

Speaking on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday,Khan saidTrump showed disrespect toward his wife and that the country needs to be run by someone with a "moral compass."

Slain Muslim soldier's father blasts Donald Trump for 'ignorant' comments

8 years ago

Duration 1:05

'This is why I showed him that constitution. Had he read that he would know what status a Gold Star mother holds in his nation," says Khizr Khan

On Sunday, Hillary Clinton defended the Khans, saying Trump has a "total misunderstanding" of American values and has inflamed divisions in American society.

Clinton told parishioners in a Cleveland church that Trump's character is questionable because he repaid a family that made the "ultimate sacrifice" with "nothing but insults" and "degrading comments about Muslims."

Clinton said: "I do tremble before those who would scapegoat other Americans, who would insult people because of their religion, their ethnicity their disability. That's just not how I was raised."

Top Republican lawmakers House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell also condemned Trump's remarks in separate statements, although they did not mention their presidential candidate by name.

"Many Muslim Americans have served valiantly in our military, and made the ultimate sacrifice. Capt.Khan was one such brave example," Ryan said. "His sacrifice and that of Khizr and Ghazala Khan - should always be honoured. Period." he said.

On Twitter, Republican strategist Ana Navarro called Trump's comments about the Khans "gross" and labeled him a "jerk."

Trump defended himself on Twitter, sayinghe had been "viciously attacked" by Khan at the convention.

Trump's campaign manager, Paul Manafort, said he sympathizes with the Khan family but that their loss is not the issue at hand. "The issue really is radical Islamic jihad and the risk to the American homeland," he said on CBS, defending Trump's proposal to suspend immigration from some geographic regions.

Trump's takeon Crimea

In theinterview forABC's This Week,Trump also saidhe would consider recognizing Russia's annexation of Crimea, carried outin2014,if it would lead to better relations with Moscow and stronger co-operation in fighting Islamic State in Iraq and Syriamilitants.

"I'm gonna take a look at it," he told host GeorgeStephanopoulos in the Sundaybroadcast.

Trump also suggested the people of Crimea would rather be part of Russia. That runs counter to the Obama administration, which imposed economic sanctions against Russia for annexing the territory in Ukraine two years ago.

The United Nations doesn't want countries to recognize Crimea as part of Russia, and some top Republicans are staunchly defending Crimea against what they say is Russian aggression.

When Stephanopoulos mentioned Russia'sannexation, Trump said:"You know me pretty well. I don't bow," before mentioningRussia's rolein thecampaign against ISIS.

"But if we can have a good relationship with Russia and if Russia would help us get rid of ISIS, frankly, as far as I'm concerned, you're talking about tremendous amounts of money and lives and everything else, that would be a positive thing, not a negative thing," Trump said.

"The people of Crimea, from what I've heard, would rather be with Russia than where they were," he said.