The Council on American-Islamic Relations launched a social media campaign under the hashtag #CanYouHearUsNow following Republican Presidential Nominee Donald Trump's slur towards the Muslim-American mother of a fallen US Army Captain, Humayun Khan.
During an interview on the ABC America, Trump claimed the soldier's mother, Ghazala Khan, remained silent on stage during her husband's address at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) because as a Muslim woman she "wasn't allowed" to speak.
The #CanYouHearUsNow campaign launched at 10am EST (12am AEST Tuesday), with Muslim women - including activists, lawyers, doctors, and academics - speaking out in defiance of Trump's comment.
Mrs Khan has since penned an op-ed for The Washington Times, condemning Trump's comments and explaining her reasons for not speaking at the DNC.
"I cannot walk into a room with pictures of Humayun. For all these years, I haven’t been able to clean the closet where his things are — I had to ask my daughter-in-law to do it. Walking onto the convention stage, with a huge picture of my son behind me, I could hardly control myself. What mother could? Donald Trump has children whom he loves. Does he really need to wonder why I did not speak," she wrote.
"Donald Trump said that maybe I wasn’t allowed to say anything. That is not true. My husband asked me if I wanted to speak, but I told him I could not. My religion teaches me that all human beings are equal in God’s eyes. Husband and wife are part of each other; you should love and respect each other so you can take care of the family."
Ghazala and Khizr Khan, who originate from Pakistani, took to the stage at last week's DNC, where Mr Khan delivered a speech citing the sacrifice both he, his wife, and his son have made as Americans, calling out Donald Trump for his proposed ban on Muslims.
Humayun was the couple's second child, of three sons.
