Salwan Momika, the Christian Iraqi man who made worldwide public outrage when he set alight the Quran a few times in Sweden in 2023 was shot dead, media reports confirmed. The police confirmed Momika’s death after the shooting incident happened late on Wednesday evening.
Momika, 38, was reportedly shot in the Hovsjo district of Sweden’s Sodertalje city, some 36 kilometers from Stockholm. Authorities responded to a shootout alert at around 11 PM local time on Wednesday, detaining some individuals for questioning.
The police have yet to determine the motive behind the attack. The reasons behind the shooting are still under investigation, but it is speculated that Momika’s controversial actions, including his multiple public Quran burnings, may have made him a target. His act of desecrating the Quran in Sweden had resulted in multiple death threats from Islamic radicals.
The Period Before Death
The police investigation of the shooting case is still ongoing, as the law enforcement officers determine whether the attempt on Momika’s life may have been tied to the death threats after the Quran burnings. His provocations had gotten him at a crossroads with a radical Islamic entity that issued successive death threats on his head.
Momika’s case has greatly exposed Sweden to much diplomatic debate amid an international war over freedom of expression and respect for religious grounds. The series of burnings of Qurans attracted protests from several nations and further sent Sweden into a diplomatic crisis with Iraq, in whose country riotous unrest and rampage were created through the act of desecrating the Quran.
Salwan Momika Blasphemy Quran Burnings
Salwan Momika’s step in 2023 led to mass protests and diplomatic tensions in all the Muslim-majority countries. The man, who later became one of the fiercest critics of Islam, had burnt many copies of the Quran in public while protesting. Muslim communities around the world condemned his actions. His approach sparked violent unrest and clashes mainly in Iraq, after which enraged participants clashed violently.
On Thursday, the Stockholm court had been set to deliver a judgment on whether Momika had instigated ethnic hatred by being party to the burnings of the Quran. The ruling could not be heard as he has been pronounced dead. He was also charged with delivering judgment on the indictment brought against his associate, Salwan Najem, who, like him, was charged with incitement.
Who was Salwan Momika?
Salwan Sabah Matti Momika was one of such Christian Iraqis who had fled his home country and was seeking asylum in Sweden. Openly holding quite detestable views against the Quran and Islam, he publicly demanded that the book should be banned. His activities had led him before Swedish courts where he had been indicted for “agitation against an ethnic or national group.”
In 2024, there were rumors of his death in Norway, but those were proven to be false. His death in Sweden, just hours before a court ruling was to be issued, has attracted worldwide attention, especially from the countries that were affected by his controversial actions.
The investigation into Momika’s death continues to unravel, with the authorities seeking to establish what happened when the shooting took place. Since motive is still not defined, attention may remain focused on the highly divisive nature of his actions and the heated debates these created in Sweden and beyond.
Salwan Momika’s death occurred at a time when global tensions about freedom of expression and religious sensitivities were high. His controversial acts and untimely death have been headline news.