Stockholm, Sweden:
Iraqi refugee Salwan Momika, who was shot dead late Wednesday in Sweden, stoked international controversy with his Koran burnings.
In June 2023, the 38-year-old with a chequered past sparked outrage when he stomped on the Islamic holy book and wrapped it in bacon before lighting a few pages on fire, slamming it shut and kicking it like a football.
Momika, along with co-protester Salwan Najem, went on to stage several similar protests, in one instance outside Iraq’s embassy in Stockholm — although he refrained from burning it on that occasion.
The Swedish decision to let his demonstration go ahead prompted Iraq to expel Sweden’s ambassador and revoke the license for telecom firm Ericsson to operate in the country.
At his protests, Momika, often sporting square sunglasses, appeared defiant in the face of shouting counter-protesters, smirking in reaction to the obscenities shouted at him.
While holding the Koran, Momika professed that he wanted to alert Swedish society to “the danger of this book” at his June 2023 protest.
Before his 2018 move to Sweden, his social media accounts told a story of an erratic political career in Iraq.
It included links to a Christian armed faction during the fight against the Islamic State group, rivalries with influential Christian paramilitaries and a brief arrest.
He also joined the massive anti-corruption protests that gripped Iraq in late 2019, which were met with a crackdown by authorities that killed more than 600 people nationwide.
Diplomatic headache
Momika had originally planned to stage his Stockholm protest in February 2023, but police denied him a permit citing security concerns.
That ruling was overturned in court, clearing the way for his demonstration.
Speaking to newspaper Aftonbladet in April 2023, Momika stressed that his intention was not to cause Sweden any trouble.
“I don’t want to harm this country that received me and preserved my dignity,” he said.
His protests nevertheless caused a headache for the government.
His June protest drew condemnations from around the world, including from Turkey — which at the time was blocking Sweden’s NATO membership.
Iraqi protesters stormed the Swedish embassy in Baghdad twice in July 2023, starting fires within the compound on the second occasion.
The Swedish government condemned the desecrations while noting the country’s constitutionally protected freedom of speech and assembly laws.
‘Big lie’
In August 2024, Momika was charged with having committed “agitation against an ethnic group” on four occasions in the summer of 2023.
Stockholm’s district court was due to deliver its verdict in the case the very morning after Momika was killed.
Later the same day, prosecutors dropped the charges.
Momika had said he had received a slew of death threats over his protests, which were livestreamed on his social media.
While Momika had police protection during his protests and when attending court, his lawyer Anna Roth told news agency TT that as far as she knew he was not protected while at home.
“He was well aware that there was an extensive threat to him. There was a price on his head,” Roth said.
In March 2024, Momika left Sweden to seek asylum in Norway, telling AFP that Sweden’s freedom of expression and protection of human rights was “a big lie”.
Norway deported him back to Sweden only weeks later.
In the wake of his initial protests he expressed ambitions to enter politics.
He told newspaper Aftonbladet he hoped to one day run for a seat in parliament as a representative for the Sweden Democrats — an anti-immigration party propping up Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson’s coalition government.
At the time the Sweden Democrats said that Momika’s actions did not represent the party.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
