In brief
Salwan Momika, the Iraqi immigrant responsible for a Quran burning that ignited massive protests, has been killed. Five arrests have been made in connection with his murder amid continuing tensions over free speech and religious sentiments.
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 said Thursday morning. The police said that they had arrested five people and that a murder investigation had been launched. Mr. Momika had been set to appear in Stockholm District Court on Thursday on a charge of agitation against an ethnic or national group. The Stockholm police, who declined to confirm that Mr. Momika had been killed, said that there had been a shooting late on Wednesday in Sodertalje, a city near Stockholm, and that a man had died. The prosecution authority then confirmed that Mr. Momika was that man. The authorities did not say if the killing was connected to Mr. Momika’s burning of the Quran. Mr. Momika set off protests around the Muslim world and in Sweden after he burned the Quran outside a mosque on one of the holiest days in Islam. He had expressed anti-Islam views and said he was trying to raise awareness about the mistreatment of Christian minorities by Islamists in some parts of the Muslim world. Many Muslims were angry with the Swedish authorities, who did not act to stop his protest. Although the authorities condemned Mr. Momika’s anti-Muslim actions, they said that Swedish free speech laws meant they had little power to intervene. A permit obtained for Mr. Momika’s gathering, however, had said that demonstrators were not allowed to burn objects in Stockholm. Mr. Momika was charged with agitation against an ethnic or national group, said Rasmus Oman, the prosecutor assigned to the case. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
