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Rais Bhuiyan
Founder & President, World Without Hate, 9/11 Hate-Crime Survivor, Documentary Film Producer, Human Rights Advocate & Peace Activist
Rais Bhuiyan
Founder & President, World Without Hate, 9/11 Hate-Crime Survivor, Documentary Film Producer, Human Rights Advocate & Peace Activist
Biography
In the days following 9/11, Rais was shot by a white supremacist in a brutal hate crime. He forgave his attacker and eventually led an international campaign trying to save him from death row. From this movement and the manifestation of his deathbed promise, Rais founded the non-profit World Without Hate (WWH). His work focuses on utilizing the transformational power of personal narrative and empathy education to help prevent and disrupt hate and violence.
In addition to his work with World Without Hate, Rais is a renowned international public speaker, engaging hundreds of thousands globally. From corporate boardrooms to college campuses, conference auditoriums, maximum-security prisons, and refugee camps, Rais shares his remarkable story of resilience, survival, and the transformative power of mercy and forgiveness. His talks inspire and motivate diverse audiences, covering topics such as empathy, resilience, forgiveness, healing and reconciliation, combating extremism, race relations, social justice, islamophobia, and leadership.
Rais donated his story, chronicled in The True American: Murder& Mercy in Texas; the 2014 New York Times Book Review Notable Book and Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year. His story is chronicled in an episode of the Emmy-nominated documentary The Secret Life of Muslims.
More recently, in September 2022, Rais was honored with an invitation to speak at the White House’s bipartisan United We Stand Summit. This notable recognition included a personal letter from President Biden, expressing deep appreciation for Rais’ dedicated efforts in combating hate-fueled violence and transforming his pain into purpose. He worked with the Obama Administration’s Domestic Policy Council, receiving a personal letter from the President thanking him for his courage and efforts. And he continues to serve on the U.S. Department of State’s speakers’ bureau, supporting efforts for peace and understanding. Rais was invited numerous times to represent WWH and had an opportunity to speak with the President and staff members about WWH’s commitment to participating in and supporting the new Office of Gun Violence Prevention and its vital initiatives. He continues to work with various organizations, activists, gun violence survivors, victims’ families, and the Office of Gun Violence Prevention.
Rais is the host and coproducer of a feature length documentary, Pain and Peace. He travelled 17,000 miles across North America, capturing the powerful stories of survivors and perpetrators of hate-fueled violence. He delivered a TEDx at Emory University in 2016. His anti-hate contributions have been widely recognized, receiving such acknowledgements as the Excellence for Human Service Award (United for Change); 2011 American of the Year (Esquire Magazine); 2014 American Heritage Award (American Immigration Council); 2014 Human Relations Award (Muslim Public Affairs Council Foundation); 2018 ADL Concert Against Hate Honoree and Kay Family Award, among others. World Without Hate is the recipient of Seattle’s Human Rights Commission’s 2021 Human Rights Organization award.
Speaker Videos
The Magic of Humanity: Forgiveness, Mercy & Compassion
World Without Hate
Pain And Peace trailer
Virtual Keynote: World Without Hate
On Forgiveness and Supporting His Attacker's Children
University of Pittsburg Commencement Speech
The Courage to Forgive
Speech Topics
Bridging Divides: How Islamophobia Threatens Peaceful Co-Existence
Before 9/11, Islam and Muslims were largely unknown to most Americans and Westerners. But in the aftermath, the religion and its followers were quickly labeled as violent extremists. This surge in hatred led to tragic acts of violence, including a white supremacist in Dallas, Texas, who killed two innocent people and shot Rais in the face at point-blank range.
After 9/11, hate in the U.S. escalated dramatically. Muslims, Sikhs, and people of Arab and South Asian descent—or those perceived to belong to these groups—were suddenly labeled as threats and terrorists.
The irrational fear, hatred, and prejudice against Muslims and Arabs has become a deeply entrenched problem, affecting individuals, communities, and the fabric of our society. Islamophobia is not just about Muslims—it uses them as scapegoats to normalize fear, misinformation, intolerance, and hate. The victims of this hatred are both Muslims and non-Muslims, like Rais’s attacker. We now stand at a critical crossroads where discrimination, civil rights, and justice intersect, and we have a responsibility to confront this growing issue head-on.
For decades, the seeds of fear and intolerance toward Muslims have been sown, and this same hatred has shockingly contributed to the rise of anti-Asian hate during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rais’s attacker had never met a Muslim or an Arab and knew nothing about Islam. It was easy to fuel his hatred. Yet, in a remarkable turn, Rais forgave his attacker and even tried to save him from death row. His attacker eventually renounced his hateful beliefs and called Rais his brother.
Combating Hate: Empathy Through Storytelling
No one is born to hate. Hate, as with empathy, must be learned and fostered. As with most learned behaviors, hate can be unlearned as well. We have the capability to turn negatives into positives, weakness into strength, fear into courage, ignorance into wisdom and hatred into love. We have the power to uphold the intentionality of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – that “All Human Beings are Born Free and Equal in Dignity and Rights,” or our Constitution – that all of us are created equal. Picture what our communities and our country might be like if we adhered to our founding principles of life, liberty, freedom, and the pursuit of happiness; that all people deserve to be treated humanely and justly. Black parents wouldn’t have to worry about losing their child in a senseless police shooting. Police officers could perform their duties without fearing for their lives. Places of worship would no longer need security. Catholic nuns wearing their habits and Muslim women wearing hijabs would be respected, instead of feared. Bhuiyan shares how by combating hate, he would no longer have to stay vigilant because of his Muslim identity and the rise of Islamophobia in our country, fearing for his safety, and life every time he leaves home.
Forgiving the Unforgivable
Bhuiyan deeply felt that by executing Mark (his shooter), we would simply lose a human life without dealing with the ROOT Cause. Instead of hating him, he saw Mark as a human being like himself, not just a killer. Bhuiyan saw him as a victim too. His faith, upbringing, and the powerful stories of mercy and forgiveness learned in childhood gave him the courage not only to forgive Mark, but also fight to save the life of the man who tried to end is own.
It moved Bhuiyan profoundly to think that the man who tried to kill him because of the ways in which he was different, learned to see the ways in which they were the same, enough to call him brother. Although retaliation is a natural response, it does not make you feel as good as you think it will. Any harm you inflict or hope to see inflicted against another human being winds up hurting you too. Once you get to know the other, it’s hard for you to hate them.
The Path Toward Peace & Justice
People can change and grow given the chance. Difficulties can turn into blessings, obstacles into opportunities. No matter how challenged our life is today, there is hope for a better tomorrow, especially when we allow ourselves vulnerability and learning to become more comfortable in our own discomfort. This internal work is not only possible, it is vital. Lives depend on it.
It is high time to acknowledge the injustices done to our fellow citizens-- Native Americans, African Americans, immigrants, and all who suffer. We must reform the power structures built on racism and intolerance, extinguishing the blatant ignorance and fear that keeps feeding these archaic systems. I am asking all of us to acknowledge the wrongs done and to educate ourselves about the true history of our country and of others around the world. Visit a plantation to witness first-hand the cruel treatment of Africans as slaves; how three generations were forced to live inhumanly, in one small shack. Speak with our Native community members or visit a reservation to see just how poorly they have been living on the land they owned. If you can’t visit, watch documentary films on their plight, it will make you humble and appreciative of who you are and what you have today. Read a variety of books and articles, explore various sites and media channels. Do your due diligence to truly discover truth because we are far overdue in facing the unjust and cruel part of our history. And it is our duty, our collective responsibility to take action and to forgive one another in order to truly break the cycle of hate and violence. We can indeed realize a world without violence, a world without victims, and a world without hate, but only if we work together.
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