Quran-burning activist Salwan Momika shot dead in Sweden.
Salwan Momika, an Iraqi refugee in Sweden who became world-famous after carrying out several Quran burnings, has been shot dead.
The incident on the evening of January 29 occurred moments before the verdict was to be given in the case determining whether his activism and Quran burnings constituted incitement to racial hatred.
The Stockholm District Court then postponed the verdict “after it was confirmed that one of the defendants has died”.
Swedish police reportedly received reports about a shooting in an apartment in the Hovsjö district in Södertälje at 11pm.
There was a live broadcast on Momika’s TikTok account shortly before the shooting. Parts of the sequence of events may have been broadcast live but the police have neither confirmed nor denied that.
Five people have been arrested, prosecutor Rasmus Öhman, who is leading the preliminary investigation, told local media.
He classified the case as a murder and said the Security Service, responsible for counter-espionage and counter-terrorism was involved as there might be an extremist religious motive.
Momika rose to global notoriety after holding several Quran burnings,, leading to major protests in many Muslim countries.
At his demonstrations in Sweden, always heavily policed, he made long speeches, tore pages from the Quran and stamped on the book.
These actions usually ended with the burning of the book, which is sacred to many Muslims. Momika filmed his own actions to post on social media.
For Sweden, the actions caused a significant diplomatic crisis as the country allowed Momika to burn Qurans under the principle of freedom of speech. That was not agreed with in many countries, Muslim and otherwise, around the world.
It led to Turkey resisting Sweden’s ascendancy to NATO for a long time.
The city of al-Kufa in Iraq offered a prize of $2 million (€1.2 million) and a 2kg gold Quran to anyone who killed him. His extradition was also demanded by the government in Baghdad .
In Sweden, the terror-threat level was raised as radical Muslims vowed vengeance.
Momika fled from Iraq to Sweden in 2018. In 2023, his temporary residence permit was revoked and he tried to apply for asylum in Norway.
He was able to receive a new permit in Sweden last year because the country’s Migration Agency considered that he risked being tortured in his home country.
Together with his partner Salwan Najem, he was charged in August 2024 with four counts of incitement to racial hatred.
In August 2024, Momika told Swedish newspaper Expressen: “I chose Sweden because I knew that it is a country where law and order are applied equally to everyone. I know that Sweden and Swedish society cherish free thinking and freedom for individuals to criticise and question religions.”
Najem said in the same interview: “Sweden has been sold to the Islamists. If you talk about Islam, it becomes incitement to racial hatred.”
Momika’s shooting happened as the Swedish Government has been struggling with an overall rise in violent crime. More than 30 suspicious explosions have occurred in the country since the beginning of the year.
On January 30, the government had planned to hold a special meeting regarding the increase in organised and violent crime.
