Salwan Momika, the infamous Iraqi migrant who gained notoriety for burning copies of the Quran in Sweden last year, has been shot dead apparently during a livestream.
Police said they arrested five individuals in connection with the shooting of the 38-year-old, who was reportedly shot in the apartment he lived in the town of Sodertalje near Stockholm.
According to reports, the incident was captured during a livestream. Video footage circulating online appears to show police handling a phone and terminating a livestream from what was reportedly Momika’s TikTok account.
Sweden’s prime minister raised concerns that the shooting may have had foreign influence. “I can assure you that the security services are deeply involved because there is obviously a risk that there is a connection to a foreign power,” Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said at a news conference on Thursday.
Momika became a controversial figure in 2023 when he burned a copy of the Quran outside Stockholm’s Central Mosque.
It sparked unrest worldwide, diplomatic tensions between Sweden and Iraq, and even delayed Sweden’s membership in NATO for more than a year due to pressure from Turkey.
He was charged in August with another person with “agitation against an ethnic group” on four occasions involving Quran desecration and anti-Muslim statements during the summer of 2023.
The verdict was expected on Thursday but was postponed due to his death, and the judgment for the associate was delayed until Monday.
Momika’s recent social media posts included Islamophobic content, expressing support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza and calls for donations for his legal defence in the incitement case.
A proponent of ending Muslim migration into Europe, he lived in Sweden since 2018 but faced potential deportation in 2023 over allegations of providing false information on his residency application.
