An anti-Islam activist known for burning the Holy Quran at multiple protests, sparking outrage across Muslim-majority countries, has been fatally shot in Sweden.
The incident occurred a day before a court was set to issue a ruling on his case, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.Salwam Momika, 38, was gunned down in Hovsjo district in the city of Sodertalje, 30km southwest of Stockholm,on Wednesday night.
Police confirmed that Momika had been killed in an “execution” and are currently investigating the murder.
Five people have been arrested in connection with Momika’s death after the police received a tip, they said.
A Stockholm court was due to rule on Thursday whether Momika, a Christian Iraqi who burned Qurans at several protests in 2023, was guilty of inciting ethnic hatred.
It postponed the ruling, saying “one of the defendents has died”.
Momika first sparked global anger in June 2023 when he burned a Quran outside Stockholm’s main mosque. Several Muslim countries condemned Sweden for not stopping the act that took place during the Eid al-Adha holiday and the annual hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.
Dozens of Iraqi protesters stormed the Swedish embassy in Baghdad in response to Momika’s action, with videos showing an angry mob breaking through an iron gate and climbing on top of the compound.
In October 2023, a Swedish court convicted a man of inciting ethnic hatred with a 2020 Quran burning, the first time the country’s court system had tried the charge for desecrating Islam’s holy book.
