Muslim Security Guard Stopped Paris Bomber, But Should it Matter?

The guard who stopped a suicide bomber from entering Stade de France was a Muslim.

A police officer stands guard while people observe a minute of silence outside the Stade de France stadium in Saint Denis, outside Paris. (Photo: AP)

He did what anyone in his shoes would have done; his religion didn’t matter at all.

But the Internet has made it a point to mention that Zouheir—who asks to be identified only by his first name — is the “Muslim” guard who stopped one of the Paris attacks suicide bombers from entering France’s national soccer stadium, where France was playing a friendly against Germany.

Zouheir discovered the attacker wearing a vest loaded with explosives when he frisked him at the entrance to the stadium about 15 minutes into the game, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The attacker had a ticket to the game and attempted to enter the 80,000-person venue. While attempting to back away from security, the attacker detonated the explosives-laden vest, according to the Stade de France security guard who was on duty at the time.

A police officer confirmed the sequence, adding that police suspect the attacker aimed to detonate his vest inside the stadium, near the players’ tunnel, in order to provoke a deadly stampede.

(Photo: AP)

At first, Zouheir thought the early blast was a firecracker. After his walkie-talkie came alive, and he noticed that French President François Hollande — who was in attendance at the Stade de France — was being ushered out of the stadium. That’s when he noticed something was wrong and sprung into action as he spotted the suspect.

A video Zouheir shot on his phone on Saturday showed the gate where the suicide bomber was turned away.

At this point, the question arises – must we mention the religion of this valiant security guard who is one of “us”, the larger populace that abhors violence, and just wants peace. Does his act assume greater significance the moment we mention the word “Muslim”?