Rais Bhuiyan
Encyclopedia
Rais Bhuiyan is a Bangladeshi American
working as a technology professional in Dallas. He was an officer in the Bangladesh Air Force
. He was a student of Sylhet Cadet College
. He went to New York
to study computer technology. After the September 11 terror attacks, Mark Anthony Stroman shot Bhuiyan, attempting to kill him. Bhuiyan was saved from brain damage, but lost sight in one of his eyes.
Bhuiyan gained media attraction after revealing that he will appeal to court to save Stroman from the death penalty. He told MSNBC
, "I'm trying to do my best not to allow the loss of another human life. I'll knock on every door possible". He said, "In Islam it says that saving one human life is the same as saving the entire mankind. Since I forgave him, all those principles encouraged me to go even further, and stop his execution and save another human life". He has started a movement for saving Mark named World Without Hate and currently working with Amnesty International
.
Bhuiyan was left with no money and had to go deeply in debt to restore his vision, "I had to go through several surgeries and finally the doctor could save the eye, but the vision is gone, and I'm still carrying more than 35 pellets on the right side of my face," he says. "Once I touch my face, my skull, I can feel it's all bumpy. It took several years to go through all these painful surgeries one after another one."
Despite these hardships, motivated by his Islamic faith, Bhuiyan forgave Stroman and took up the cause of preventing his execution. Stroman would go on to repudiate his white supremacist beliefs. In an interview with the New York Times, he wrote: "i have The Islamic Community Joining in [my legal defense]...Spearheaded by one Very Remarkable man Named Rais Bhuiyan, Who is a Survivor of My Hate. His deep Islamic Beliefs Have gave him the strength to Forgive the Un-forgiveable...that is truly Inspiring to me, and should be an Example for us all. The Hate, has to stop, we are all in this world together." They reconciled before Stroman's death. Hours before Stroman's execution, Bhuiyan spoke with Stroman, over the phone, for the first time since the shooting. "I forgive you and I do not hate you," he said. Stroman responded "Thank you from my heart! I love you, bro.... You touched my heart. I would have never expected this." Bhuiyan replied: "You touched mine too."
Mark Anthony Stroman was executed on July 20, 2011. Earlier that day Bhuiyan's lawyers had lost a final appeal in federal court to stay Stroman's execution.
Bangladeshi American
Bangladeshi Americans are Americans of Bangladeshi descent. The overwhelming majority of Bangladeshi Americans are Bengalis. Most of them have immigrated from Sylhet region with a long trading history. Bangladeshi immigrants arrived in the United States especially since the early 1990s to become...
working as a technology professional in Dallas. He was an officer in the Bangladesh Air Force
Bangladesh Air Force
The Bangladesh Air Force , is the air arm of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. Bangladesh Air Force currently employs more than 22,000 personnel including 600+ Pilots.-History:...
. He was a student of Sylhet Cadet College
Sylhet Cadet College
Sylhet Cadet College is a military high school for boys situated 7 km north to Sylhet divisional City, east to the Osmani Air Port Road, beside Parjatan motel of Sylhet.-History:...
. He went to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
to study computer technology. After the September 11 terror attacks, Mark Anthony Stroman shot Bhuiyan, attempting to kill him. Bhuiyan was saved from brain damage, but lost sight in one of his eyes.
Bhuiyan gained media attraction after revealing that he will appeal to court to save Stroman from the death penalty. He told MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
, "I'm trying to do my best not to allow the loss of another human life. I'll knock on every door possible". He said, "In Islam it says that saving one human life is the same as saving the entire mankind. Since I forgave him, all those principles encouraged me to go even further, and stop his execution and save another human life". He has started a movement for saving Mark named World Without Hate and currently working with Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
.
Hate crime victim
Bhuiyan had moved to Texas from New York as it was cheaper and a friend had offered a partnership at a gas station. After the September 11 attacks, day laborer Mark Anthony Stroman went on a killing spree against people who he viewed as Arab due to a vision he was seeking revenge against the 9/11 attacks. On Sept. 15, 2001, Waqar Hasan, a Pakistani immigrant, was killed in Dallas. Bhuiyan begged his partner at the gas station to increase security, something he refused to do. On September 21, 2001, Stroman walked into Bhuiyan's gas station, and while Bhuiyan was handing over the money asked, "Where are you from?" Before he could answer, Stroman shot him in the face with a shotgun. Bhuiyan ran to the barbershop next door, and a man in the shop called 911.Aftermath
While the police were investigating the shooting, Indian immigrant Vasudev Patel was killed in Mesquite, Texas on Oct. 4, 2001. Stroman was soon captured and called TV stations from his jail cell to talk about how he was a patriot for killing the men. He sent a letter to a friend from prison in 2002, saying the attacks were revenge: "Here sits the Arab Slayer. For what he did, we should make him our mayor," he wrote. "… Patriotic, yes indeed, a true American, a special breed."Bhuiyan was left with no money and had to go deeply in debt to restore his vision, "I had to go through several surgeries and finally the doctor could save the eye, but the vision is gone, and I'm still carrying more than 35 pellets on the right side of my face," he says. "Once I touch my face, my skull, I can feel it's all bumpy. It took several years to go through all these painful surgeries one after another one."
Despite these hardships, motivated by his Islamic faith, Bhuiyan forgave Stroman and took up the cause of preventing his execution. Stroman would go on to repudiate his white supremacist beliefs. In an interview with the New York Times, he wrote: "i have The Islamic Community Joining in [my legal defense]...Spearheaded by one Very Remarkable man Named Rais Bhuiyan, Who is a Survivor of My Hate. His deep Islamic Beliefs Have gave him the strength to Forgive the Un-forgiveable...that is truly Inspiring to me, and should be an Example for us all. The Hate, has to stop, we are all in this world together." They reconciled before Stroman's death. Hours before Stroman's execution, Bhuiyan spoke with Stroman, over the phone, for the first time since the shooting. "I forgive you and I do not hate you," he said. Stroman responded "Thank you from my heart! I love you, bro.... You touched my heart. I would have never expected this." Bhuiyan replied: "You touched mine too."
Mark Anthony Stroman was executed on July 20, 2011. Earlier that day Bhuiyan's lawyers had lost a final appeal in federal court to stay Stroman's execution.