Salwan Momika, an Iraqi immigrant who set off enormous protests when he burned a Quran in Stockholm in 2023, has been killed, the Swedish Prosecution Authority mentioned Thursday morning.
The police mentioned that they’d arrested 5 folks and {that a} homicide investigation had been launched. Mr. Momika had been set to seem in Stockholm District Courtroom on Thursday on costs associated to the 2023 incident, which resulted in protests in Sweden and throughout the Muslim world.
The Stockholm police, who declined to substantiate that Mr. Momika had been killed, mentioned that there had been a taking pictures late on Wednesday in Sodertalje, a metropolis close to Stockholm, and {that a} man had died. The prosecution authority then confirmed that Mr. Momika was that man.
Mr. Momika’s protection legal professional, Anna Roth, mentioned he had acquired dying threats. The authorities didn’t say in the event that they believed the killing was linked to Mr. Momika’s burning of the Quran.
Mr. Momika, a Christian, had set the Quran ablaze throughout Eid al-Adha, a significant Islamic vacation, outdoors a mosque in Stockholm. He mentioned that he was attempting to boost consciousness in regards to the mistreatment and killing of Christian minorities by Islamists in some elements of the Muslim world.
“I’m warning the Swedish folks in regards to the risks of this guide,” Mr. Momika had mentioned by a megaphone outdoors the mosque.
The response from the Muslim world was swift and livid, with a lot of the criticism aimed on the Swedish authorities for not stopping the burning.
In Iraq, a number of hundred folks stormed the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad and set elements of it ablaze. Iraq expelled Sweden’s ambassador and directed its ambassador to Sweden to withdraw from its embassy in Stockholm.
Egypt referred to as the Quran burning “a disgraceful act.” And Morocco recalled its ambassador in Sweden, its state news agency reported.
The Swedish authorities had condemned Mr. Momika’s actions on the time, however the police granted a allow for his deliberate demonstration after a Swedish court docket dominated that banning it could impinge on the best to freedom of speech.
The allow, nevertheless, didn’t enable him to burn objects, and Mr. Momika was subsequently charged with agitation in opposition to an ethnic or nationwide group in 4 incidents of kicking, stamping on and burning a Quran. He additionally made speeches with derogatory statements directed in opposition to Muslims and Islam, in keeping with the indictment.
“The truth that statements are made in a big sq. and disseminated is a prerequisite for incitement to racial hatred,” mentioned Anna Hankkio, a Swedish prosecutor who initially introduced the fees in opposition to Mr. Momika. “It’s as much as the district court docket to evaluate whether or not the burning of the Quran will also be thought of incitement in opposition to a bunch of individuals.”
Later that summer time, Mr. Momika once more burned Qurans, in keeping with the indictment.
The Quran burnings — and the ensuing horror and outrage from the Muslim world — sparked debates in Sweden, which has struggled with whether or not to permit such protests.
Earlier than Mr. Momika burned the holy guide, Swedish authorities had denied different anti-Quran protests, citing considerations about disruption to public order. After the burning, Sweden’s international ministry referred to as Mr. Momika’s motion Islamophobic, and officers warned that such protests might have an effect on the nation’s nationwide safety coverage. The home safety company briefly raised its terrorism menace to its most extreme designation.
Salwan Najem, who joined Mr. Momika in some protests and was additionally accused of burning a Quran, was a co-defendant within the case that was to be selected Thursday. He’s now set to obtain his verdict on Feb. 3, the Stockholm District Courtroom mentioned in a statement.
On Thursday, Mr. Najem expressed concern, posting a link on X to a narrative about Mr. Momika’s killing.
“I’m subsequent,” he wrote.
