The Iraqi refugee was killed in his apartment during a live stream
Salwan Momika, an Iraqi refugee known for publicly burning copies of the Quran in Sweden, has been shot dead in his apartment in Sodertalje, local news outlets have reported. The killing is said to have taken place on Wednesday, one day before he was scheduled to appear in court on hate speech charges.
Momika, who came to Sweden in 2018, gained international attention five years later after staging several Quran-burning demonstrations in the Nordic country, sparking protests in a number of Muslim-majority nations. His actions sparked diplomatic tensions between Sweden and countries including Iraq, Turkey, and Pakistan. The Iraqi government had demanded his extradition, and Swedish authorities had begun deportation proceedings against him in 2023, though the process had not yet been finalized.
Wednesday’s attack reportedly occurred while the 38-year-old was live-streaming on Tiktok. Swedish police confirmed that they have arrested five people in connection with the killing but have not disclosed details about the suspects’ identities or motives. Investigators are said to be working to determine whether the shooting was politically or religiously motivated.
As noted by the media, Momika was supposed to appear before the court on Thursday for sentencing in a case on incitement against an ethnic group for staging four Quran burnings.
“Since it has been confirmed that one of the defendants has died, the sentence must be adjusted to the fact that it is not possible to sentence a deceased person,” the Stockholm District Court has said.
Another defendant in the case, Salwan Najem, has commented on the news of Momik’s killing by claiming that he is also likely to be targeted. “I’m next,” Najem wrote on X.
Several individuals in Europe have been targeted or killed after publicly opposing Islam in recent years. In 2020, French teacher Samuel Paty was beheaded after showing cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in a classroom discussion on free speech. Later that year, three people were killed in a knife attack at a church in Nice. In 2015, 12 people were killed in a terrorist attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris, after the magazine published satirical depictions of Muhammad.
