Rais Bhuiyan

Raisuddin "Rais" Bhuiyan (; born September 1973) is a Bangladeshi American working as a technology professional in Dallas. A former officer in the Bangladesh Air Force, he was a student of Sylhet Cadet College who had gone to New York City to study computer technology. He started a movement named World Without Hate to prevent hate crimes through education and worked with Amnesty International. After the September 11 attacks, day laborer Mark Anthony Stroman went on a killing spree against people who he viewed as Muslim, with the apparent intention of seeking revenge for the 9/11 attacks. On September 15, 2001, Pakistani immigrant Waqar Hasan, 46, was shot and killed inside of a grocery store located at 10819 Elam Rd. in Dallas, Texas. Six days later, Stroman, armed with a shotgun, walked into a convenience store located at 521 S. Buckner Blvd. in Dallas. Bhuiyan, who was working behind the counter and believed Stroman was robbing him, began to collect money to hand over. As Stroman approached the counter, he asked, "Where are you from?" Before Bhuiyan could answer, Stroman shot him in the face. 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 defence]...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." Earlier that day, Bhuiyan's lawyers had lost a final appeal in federal court to stay Stroman's execution.