Imagine yourself as a Muslim man walking down the street in Dallas just days after the September 11 attacks on New York City. Everybody knows that in the paranoid aftermath of the attacks, a great degree of unjust criticism was hurled at the Muslim world. An unfair light was shed upon those who had nothing at all to do with the circumstances leading up the attack. For quite some time after the attacks, there was a subtle yet potent atmosphere of anti-Muslim prejudice on American streets, one of the most blatant examples being the mob-style outburst at attempts to build a cultural centre on ground zero.
Now, back to the man walking down the street. In an instant, his fears, and the fears of countless other Muslims, are realized as he is targeted by Mark Anthony Stroman, a man who is on a “mission of revenge.” Stroman immediately executes two South Asian immigrants, and shoots the Muslim man – Rais Bhuiyan – in the face at close range, blinding him in one eye. It doesn’t get any better for Bhuiyan either, as he does not have sufficient capital to afford appropriate medical treatment. He is sent wandering between doctors and reduced to couch surfing between strangers. It took him years to recover from the wound, and he still carries bits of metal embedded in his face. Now if this was me, I would probably not object to the death penalty for Stroman. But that is where this story turns truly fascinating.
In a highly unconventional turn of events, Bhuiyan began circulating petitions in order to get the sentence of his attacker commuted from the death penalty to life in prison without parole. On his interview with CBC, Bhuiyan said that Stroman was not the cause of the issue, but rather a symptom, the “issue” being hate. By executing Stroman, all the state would do is further perpetuate existing hate. Bhuiyan said that he had forgiven Stroman years ago, and 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.”
Bhuiyan even set up a website last year called World Without Hate, and garnered much support. Unfortunately, despite his best efforts, Stroman was executed on July 20, 2011. But the story does not end, even there. Shocked at Bhuiyan’s concern for him, Stroman made an about-face on his initial stance. “Hate is going on in this world and it has to stop,” Stroman said in his final moments. “Hate causes a lifetime of pain.” In an interview, Stroman said: “In the free world, I was free but I was locked in a prison inside myself because of the hate I carried in my heart. It is due to Rais’ message of forgiveness that I am more content now than I have ever been.” In his final words before death, Stroman bid goodbye to his family, and the world. “I love you, all of you,” he said. “Goodnight.”
If this is not a display of true humanism, I don’t know what is.