Salwan Momika, Iraqi Christian who burned Quran in Sweden, shot dead

A Stockholm court was scheduled to rule on Thursday on whether Salwan Momika, an Iraqi Christian who desecrated the Quran during protests, was guilty of inciting ethnic hatred.

However, the ruling was postponed after the court confirmed, “one of the defendants has died.”

Momika’s public burning of the Quran in 2023 led to protests across several Muslim-majority countries, straining Sweden’s diplomatic ties with Middle Eastern nations and prompting the government to heighten security measures.

Swedish prosecutors had charged Momika and another individual, Salwan Najem, with “offences of agitation against an ethnic or national group.”

According to prosecutors, the two men burned the Quran and made disparaging remarks about Muslims on four occasions, including an incident outside a Stockholm mosque.

“Both men are prosecuted for having on these four occasions made statements and treated the Quran in a manner intended to express contempt for Muslims because of their faith,” Senior Prosecutor Anna Hankkio was quoted as saying by Al Jazeera.

“In my opinion, the men’s statements and actions fall under the provisions on agitation against an ethnic or national group, and it is important that this matter is tried in court,” she added.

Prosecutors cited video recordings of the incidents as primary evidence in the case.

Najem denied any wrongdoing, with his lawyer, Mark Safaryan, telling Reuters that the demonstration permit covered his client’s actions.

“The permit granted in connection with the demonstration is covered by my client’s intent. His rights are protected by the Swedish Constitution,” Safaryan said.

Momika had stated that his protests were aimed at opposing Islam as an institution and had called for banning the Quran.

Sweden’s migration agency had ordered his deportation over false information in his residency application but later ruled that the order could not be enforced due to the risk of torture in Iraq.

Who was Salwan Momika?

Salwan Momika was a harsh critic of Islam. On Eid in June 2023, Momika was filmed stepping on and setting fire to a copy of the Quran outside Stockholm’s largest mosque.

Little is known about his early life, but videos and images depict him as a former militia leader in Iraq.

In an earlier video, Momika described himself as the head of a Christian militia that was part of the Imam Ali Brigades, an organisation formed in 2014 and accused of war crimes, according to France24.

The Imam Ali Brigades operate under the Popular Mobilisation Forces, a coalition of groups, some of which have been integrated into the Iraqi army to combat the Islamic State.

In 2017, Momika led his armed group on the outskirts of Mosul. The following year, he fled Iraq after a power struggle with Rayan al-Kaldani, the leader of another Christian militia.