“The journey I’ve taken moved me from a place of pain on the deepest level to a place of hope for a kinder world, a world without violence, a world without victims, and a world without hate.”
~ Rais Bhuiyan, Founder & President, World Without Hate
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 has been invited on numerous occasions to represent WWH, including the honor of discussing WWH’s commitment to supporting the new Office of Gun Violence Prevention and its essential initiatives with the President and staff. He remains dedicated to collaborating with various organizations, activists, gun violence survivors, victims’ families, and the Office of Gun Violence Prevention.
Rais is also the host and co-producer of Pain and Peace, a feature-length documentary. Traveling 17,000 miles across North America, he captured the powerful stories of survivors and perpetrators of hate-driven 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.
If you need a picture of Rais, you can use one of the headshots below. Photo credit: "Rais Bhuiyan"
