The Iraqi man who provoked demonstrations across the world and outrage all over the Arab and Muslim world for staging protests where he burned copies of the Quran in public spaces was killed in Sweden.
BREAKING
The 5 men suspected of having shot @Salwan_Momika1 to death have been released
Prosecutor R. Öman says the suspicions that they committed a crime have weakened & that he no longer sees a reason to keep them locked up. However, they’re still the suspected of the murder pic.twitter.com/TmsQKEDLdR— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) January 31, 2025
38-year-old Salwan Momika was shot dead in his apartment in the city of Södertälje, around 30 kilometers away from the Swedish capital, Stockholm, on the evening of January 29th.
After Momika, a refugee originally from Iraq set fire to a copy of Islam’s holy book outside the Stockholm Central Mosque in 2023, which sparked anger among many Muslims across the world. On one occasion, he stomped on the copy of the Quran before wrapping it in bacon, lighting a few pages on fire, slamming it shut, and then kicking it like a football.
Police in Stockholm released a statement saying that five people were arrested after a man in his 40s was shot overnight. Officials were also alerted of the suspected shooting at an apartment in Hovsjö on the night of January 29th. The man, who was not named by police, was found with gunshot wounds and was later taken to the hospital.
https://t.co/ope0unLH8e https://t.co/QN5nJeB5hr
— Mojy (@Mojgan_00) January 31, 2025
Authorities announced that he died on the morning of January 30th. Swedish media reported that Momika was shot while he was streaming live on TikTok. A video seen by media outlets, such as Reuters, showed police picking up a phone, believed to be Momika’s, and ending the live stream that appeared to be from his TikTok account.
Momika was charged in August, along with another person, with "agitation against an ethnic group" following multiple incidents of Quran-burning public demonstrations in the summer of 2023.
However, the verdict was postponed, and Momika’s case was dismissed after it was “confirmed that one of the defendants had died,” according to the Stockholm District Court.
He was more courageous than all of you Muslims combined. pic.twitter.com/PhFktsrA8p
— Ridvan Aydemir | Apostate Prophet (@ApostateProphet) January 31, 2025
Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Sweden’s security services were involved because there were fears that the killings could have been linked to another country.
“I can assure you that the security services are deeply involved because there is obviously a risk that there is a connection to a foreign power,” Kristersson said.
The Nordic country’s Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch condemned the murder on social media.
Salwan was a GENOCIDE SURVIVOR. His family in Iraq was murdered by ISIS for being Assyrian Christians.
He sought refuge in Sweden, but not only did Sweden fail to protect him, it actively tormented him with the threat of deportation to Iraq, where he faced an execution sentence. pic.twitter.com/63EzlozHaU— Dr. Maalouf (@realMaalouf) January 30, 2025
“It is a threat to our free democracy. It must be met with the full force of our society,” Busch wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Sweden’s security services said the police are leading the investigation. Still, they noted that they are “following the development of events closely to see what impact this may have on Swedish security.”
Sweden raised its terrorism alert to the second-highest level. It warned of threats against Swedes at home and abroad after the Quran-burning protests, many of them by Momika, angered many Muslims and prompted threats from Islamic extremists.
Salwan Momika:”I warned Sweden from danger of lsIam and Quran and burned Quran that’s why MusIims want to kill me.”pic.twitter.com/J5aYXYvnMX
— Azat (@AzatAlsalim) February 8, 2024
The Quran-burning demonstrations caused a severe strain in diplomatic ties between Sweden and the entire Muslim world, which reached its highest point after Iraqi protesters stormed the Swedish and Danish embassies in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, setting the compound on fire.
The protests also complicated Sweden’s entry into NATO after Turkey suspended talks with Sweden in 2023 after a far-right Swedish-Danish activist burned a copy of the Quran outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm.
The Swedish government condemned the Quran-burning protests, but it initially regarded it as protected under the country’s free speech laws. However, Stockholm later pledged to explore legal means of outlawing protests that involve burning texts in specific contexts.
