France: A Tale of Two Faiths
by William Kilpatrick, Crisis Magazine:
Last March, an Islamist terrorist stormed a supermarket in Trèbes, France, shot two people dead and took others hostage. In negotiations with police, the terrorist agreed to accept a police lieutenant’s offer to swap places with the last hostage, a female cashier. The police officer, Arnaud Beltrame, was subsequently killed.
In honor of his heroic sacrifice, it was proposed that a place be named after Beltrame in the city of Marseille. But leftist officials vetoed the plan on the grounds that it might offend Marseille’s large Muslim population who, they argued, “will take it as a provocation.”
But why should Muslims be offended by the honoring of a policeman who was willing to risk his own life for the sake of another?
One possible reason is that many Muslims value the lives of Muslims above that of non-Muslims. This goes well beyond the normal human tendency to identify with people of the same race, religion, or ethnicity. Indeed, it’s a matter of doctrine. According to the Koran, Allah created Muslims “the best of peoples” (3: 110). How much better? One widely consulted sharia law manual stipulates that the value of a Jew or Christian is one-third the value of a Muslim (o4. 9). Moreover, a Muslim who kills a non-Muslim is not subject to “retaliation,” i.e., the death penalty (o1. 2), although he may need to pay a fine.
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