Murder in God's (Allah's) Name Is Still Murder

My heart sinks with the news of Oct. 16 that a Muslim fanatic murdered and beheaded a French teacher, Samuel Paty, 47, who had showed his students cartoon drawings of Muhammad during a class on free expression in suburban Paris. Police later shot Paty's 18-year-old killer dead. Six others were charged with complicity in the murder. According to the BBC, 

Two teenage students, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were allegedly paid around €300 (£270; $355) by the killer to identify Mr Paty outside the school.

The teenagers are alleged to have described the teacher to [to the suspected killer] and stayed with him for more than two hours until Mr Paty appeared. 

A man named only as Brahim C, a parent of one of Mr Paty's pupils, is also under investigation. The 48-year-old is accused of orchestrating a hate campaign against Mr Paty and exchanging text messages with the killer before the attack.

On Wednesday, [France's chief anti-terrorism prosecutor Jean-François] Ricard said there was a "direct causal link" between the online campaign and Mr Paty's death....

The teacher had been the target of threats since he showed the cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad during a class on 6 October.

Islamic tradition apparently forbids images of the man who founded the religion. We all remember with horror the 11 murders in 2015 at the office of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, which had published cartoons of Muhammad. (A trial for those crimes is now going on.)

Muslims, like everyone else of course, are free to take offense at anything they like. But what they may not do is initiate violence against other people who are thought to "give offense." Perpetrators who do so deserve no sympathy whatever. We all live with the possibility that someone or something will offend us. That is no excuse for violence. That's how it goes in any society that purports to be free. Religion can offer no refuge for killers and those who terrorize.

Any backstory -- for example France's long self-aggravating failure to integrate Muslims into French society -- is a topic for another day. In response to the killing, French President Emmanuel Macron is reportedly considering restrictions on the Muslim community. That would be a huge mistake, not to mention a violation of religious freedom. Protests against such violations of the rule of law are being heard.

It is good to see that Islamic community leaders and other French Muslims have condemned the killing.