HOUSTON -- A Muslim man who was shot in a hate crime following the 9/11 terrorist attacks is calling for forgiveness for his attacker.
September 11th was a day that would forever change the nation's psyche and it set events in motion that, 10 days later, would forever change Rais Bhuiyan's life.
Bhuiyan calls September 11th his second birthday.
“I got my life back,” he said.
Bhuiyan was one of the first hate crime victims in the wake of 9/11. He was shot in the face while working at a Dallas convenience store.
“He asked me ‘Where are you from?’ and I said, ‘Excuse me?’ As soon as I spoke, I felt the sensation of a million bees stinging my face and I heard an explosion,” he said.
He was white supremacist Mark Stroman, who is set to be executed next month for killing two other men in similar incidents.
Now in a stunning and some would say inspirational turn of events, Bhuiyan, who lost vision in his right eye because of the attack, has grown to see things in a different light.
“I forgave Mark Stroman man years ago. In fact I never hated him. I never hated America for what happened to me either,” he said.
He, as well as others in the Muslim community and beyond are now pushing to have Stroman's death sentence communed to life without parole.
“Islam calls us to forgiveness and compassion,” said Mustaffa Carroll, with CAIR Texas.
Bhuiyan said the bigger message here is this is all about passion, forgiveness and healing.
As the tenth anniversary of 9/11 approaches, he said it's a wake-up call for the conscience of a nation.
