CAIR: Muslim Man Shot in 9/11 Hate Crime Calls for Forgiveness for Attacker

- MEDIA ADVISORY –

(Houston, TX 6/15/11) – The Houston, Texas Chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR-TX, Houston) in conjunction with Greater Houston area religious leaders and human rights activists will gather Friday June 24, 2011 at 11:00am at the Dominican Sisters, 6501 Almeda Rd, Houston, TX 77021 in support of Rais Bhuiyan’s call for “compassion, healing and forgiveness” on behalf of the man sentenced to death after shooting him and killing two others. 

Bhuiyan, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Bangladesh, was one of this country’s first hate crime victims immediately following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He is requesting that the scheduled July 20 execution of his attacker, white supremacist Mark Stroman, be commuted to life in prison without parole. 

Bhuiyan was working in a convenience store when, 10 days after the terrorist attacks, a man pushed a gun into his face. “Where are you from?” were the last words the 26-year-old Bhuiyan heard before his attacker shot him at close range, blinding him in one eye and leaving shrapnel he still carries in the right side of his face. The shooter had asked the same question of two other South Asian immigrants, Waqar Hasan and Vasudev Patel, before killing them in separate incidents on Sept. 14 and Oct. 4, respectively.
 
Stroman writes on his website that he lost a sister in the attacks on the Twin Towers and that he believed his actions would be celebrated as those of a patriot. Now imprisoned in the Polunsky Unit death row facility in Livingston, Texas, Stroman has expressed profound remorse and deep regret for his actions, Halperin says. “And when Mark’s appeals attorney, Lydia Brandt, shared with him that Rais and other members of the victims’ families have forgiven him and were working to commute his death sentence, he was reduced to tears.”

Bhuiyan is seeking solace for himself and the wives and children of the other shooting victims. “Executing Stroman is not what they want, either,” he told The Dallas Morning News. “They have already suffered so much; it will cause only more suffering if he is executed.”  The decision to pursue commutation of Stroman’s sentence currently resides with Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins. If Watkins does not support commutation, Bhuiyan says he will appeal to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, which can then make a recommendation to Texas Gov. Rick Perry to commute the sentence. Bhuiyan’s website, www.worldwithouthate.org, has additional information about his call for commuting Stroman’s death sentence.
 

We encourage community members to attend the news conference.

SEE: A victim of 9/11 hate crime now fights for his attacker's life (MSNBC)

WHAT: Press Conference: Call for Compassion
WHEN: Friday, June 24, 2011 11 a.m.
WHERE: The Dominican Sisters, 6501 Almeda Rd, Houston, TX 77021
CONTACT: CAIR-Houston Executive Director Mustafaa Carroll, 832-549-1042, 713-838-CAIR, E-Mail: mcarroll@cair.com

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

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