"We are brothers. It's not a question of Jews, of Christians or of Muslims. We're all in the same boat, we have to help each other to get out of this crisis." Lassana Bathily

Lassana Bathily, Muslim Employee At Kosher Market, Saved Several People During Paris Hostage Situation

In an interview with the French channel BFMTV, Mr. Bathily said he ushered about 15 people into the basement room after the gunman burst into the shop. He then turned off the power and the lights.

“We were locked in there,” he said. “I told them to calm down, not make any noise, or else if he hears that we’re there, he can come down and kill us.”

Muslim Employee of Kosher Market in Paris Praised for Hiding Customers From Gunman

As news of his heroics spread on Saturday, there were numerous calls on social networks to reward him for his bravery with either the Legion of Honor, France’s highest award, or French citizenship.

Some observers also connected his actions to the hashtag used to praise Ahmed Merabet, a Muslim police officer killed on Wednesday by the gunmen who launched the deadly attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical weekly.