STOCKHOLM: An Iraqi citizen and anti-Islam campaigner known for publicly burning copies of the Holy Quran, was shot dead in his apartment in Sweden on Wednesday night, state media reported on Thursday.
Salwan Momika, 38, was shot dead hours before he was due to receive a court verdict following a trial over burning the Holy Quran.
“A man in his 40s was found shot in an apartment and rushed to the hospital,” a spokesperson for the Stockholm police said as quoted by the Turkish Anadolu news agency.
Later, the police confirmed his death and launched a murder investigation. Danish authorities have also been briefed about the incident. Police said in a statement that five people had been arrested over the shooting on Thursday.

Swedish media reported that Momika was streaming live on TikTok at the time he was shot.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told reporters at a press conference: “I can guarantee that the security services are deeply involved in this because there is obviously a risk that there is also a link to foreign power.”

Momika, along with co-protester Salwan Najem, went on to stage several similar protests, in one instance outside Iraq’s embassy in Stockholm — although he refrained from burning it on that occasion.
Momika was granted residency in Sweden in 2021 and became known for organising public burnings of the Holy Quran across the Nordic countries.

In 2023, Momika and co-protester Salwan Najem were charged multiple times for “agitation against an ethnic or national group” related to their actions in the summer of that year.
“I’m next on the list,” Najem in a post on X said after Momika’s death, telling Swedish media that he had received death threats.
The Swedish Migration Agency revoked Momika’s residency permit, citing false information in his original application. Although he had been living in Sweden since 2018, he left for Norway in March 2024 to seek asylum but was arrested and deported back to Sweden.
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Momika carried out the burnings in Sweden and Denmark under the guise of free speech. His controversial actions sparked widespread protests in Muslim-majority countries, including attacks on diplomatic missions.
In response to the backlash, Denmark passed legislation in December 2023 making it illegal to burn copies of the Holy Quran in public places. Iraq had also requested Momika’s extradition over one of the Holy Quran burnings.