Man who burned Quran 'shot dead in Sweden'

Salwan Momika, who sparked global criticism by publicly burning the Quran in Sweden, has been shot dead.

He was killed in an apartment in Södertälje, Stockholm, on Wednesday evening. Salwan Momika is originally an Iraqi citizen and was in Sweden as a political asylum seeker.

Unrest broke out after Mr Momika burned a copy of Islam's holy book Quran in front of Stockholm Central Mosque on the holy day of Eid al-Adha in 2023.

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Sweden's security services were involved in the investigation because there was "obviously a risk that there were links to foreign powers.'

However, Stockholm police said in a statement that five people had been arrested after a man in his 40's was shot dead overnight.

Officers were called to a suspected shooting at an apartment in Hovsjö around 23:11 local time (22:11 GMT) on Wednesday.

The man, who has not been named by police, was found with gunshot wounds and taken to hospital. The force announced he had died on Thursday morning.

Local media reported that Mr Momika had been livestreaming on social media around the time he was shot.

Momika was scheduled to be sentenced on Thursday for insulting the Quran, the holy book of Islam. However, he was shot dead before he could appear in court.

In 2023, some miscreants burned the Quran in Sweden and Denmark. This caused widespread tension worldwide. Especially Muslim countries officially condemned them. In addition, there were clashes in some places. Despite this, Momika and some of his associates continued to burn the Quran. This further increased the tension.

Earlier on Thursday, the Stockholm District Court announced that the verdict in a previously scheduled case had been postponed because one of the defendants in the case had died.

The judge later said that the person who was shot dead was Momika, who burned the Quran. However, the judge did not confirm how Momika died.

Who was Salwan Momika?

The 38-year-old Iraqi gained global notoriety in 2023. He insulted the Quran multiple times that year.

In 2023, some miscreants burned the Quran in Sweden and Denmark. This caused widespread tension worldwide. Especially Muslim countries officially condemned them. In addition, there were clashes in some places.

Despite this, Momika and some of his associates continued to burn the Quran. He also carried out a series of anti-Islam protests, sparking outrage in many Muslim-majority countries. This further increased the tension.

Unrest took place at the Swedish embassy in Baghdad twice, while the Swedish ambassador was expelled from the city amid a diplomatic row.

Swedish police had given Mr Momika permission for the protest in which he burnt the holy book, under the pretext of 'freedom of speech'. The police even provided him security when he burned the Quran.

However, when tensions rose, the country's government was warned that if Momika continued with such activities, Islamists could attack Sweden.

The government later pledged to explore legal means of abolishing protests that involve burning texts in certain circumstances.

In the face of protests and criticism, the Swedish government revoked Momika's residence permit. However, they did not make any arrangements to send her back to his home country, Iraq.