I came across this very touching story and thought I’d share it with you guys..
On September 21, 2001, a 41-year old white supremacist from Dallas walked into a gas station and opened fire on people he believed to be Arabs. Enraged by the 9/11 attacks, the shooter, Mark Anthony Stroman, killed an Indian man who was Hindu and a Pakistani man who was Muslim.
The third victim was a 37-year old Muslim pilot from Bangladesh, Rias Bhuiyan, he was shot in the face at close range with a double gun, Bhuiyan survived the attack, but lost sight in one of his eyes
After admitting to the attacks, Stroman was sentenced to death.
The surprising part of this story is that Bhuiyan, the surviving victim, has spent months petitioning Texas to spare his shooter’s life. Because as a Muslim, he stated that “his Islamic faith taught him not to seek vengeance and that what Stroman did was out of ignorance”.
Unfortunately Bhuiyan’s pleads didn’t work. And Stroman was executed on July 20th,2011, almost a week ago. He deeply regretted what he had done. All because of his Muslim victim’s efforts and good will. One of Stroman’s statements was the following:
“Not only do I have all My friends and supporters trying to Save my Life, but now i have The Islamic Community Joining in … 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.”
The last thing Stroman said before he was executed was: “Even though I lay on this gurney, seconds away from my death, I am at total peace,I’m still a proud American, Texas loud, Texas proud. God bless America. God bless everyone,’ he added, then turned to the warden and said: ‘Let’s do this damn thing.’
I’m so proud of Rias Bhuiyan. What he did took real courage and he gave the right message about his religion. I’m sure the story touched many people who thought the opposite about Islam and gave them second thoughts.
Never judge a religion based on what you hear about it from people around you or the news. Do your research and educate yourself from trusted sources. Because there is no such thing as a bad religion. It’s human beings who misunderstand it and invent new rules according to what they see “fit”. Judge a person based on his actions, but not their whole religion.
read more about this story and see pictures here
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