Iraqi who sparked worldwide protests for burning Koran shot dead while live streaming

An Iraqi anti-Islam activist who publicly burned the Koran was shot dead while livestreaming.

The 38-year-old Salwan Momika was reportedly killed on Wednesday night in a flat in the Swedish city of Sodertlje. The activist was known for publicly burning the Koran, Islam’s religious text, enraging Muslims worldwide and leading to widespread protests.

Momika was facing a conviction in Sweden for “inciting ethnic hatred” due to his actions, and the Stockholm court was scheduled to rule on the matter on Thursday. He and his co-protestor Salwan Najem were being charged with desecrating and burning the Koran and for making “derogatory remarks about Muslims,” according to the Daily Mail.

The court postponed the ruling to February 3 due to Momika’s death.

The police said they found Momika suffering from gunshot wounds and that he was rushed to the hospital, where he was eventually confirmed dead.

The assassination was caught on video, according to media reports, as Momika was on a TikTok livestream shortly before the shooting.

Swedish prosecutor Rasmus Ohman said that five people have been arrested in relation to Momika’s death.

Salwan Najem said, “I am next,” on X after the news of his companion’s death broke, implying that he would be a target for assassination as well...

Momika was born into a Catholic Assyrian family in Iraq’s northern Nineveh province. However, after moving to Germany in 2017, he announced his apostasy and said that he was an atheist. In 2018, he applied for asylum in Sweden and received refugee status...

He sought asylum in Norway in 2024 but was deported to Sweden shortly after, where he was then granted a temporary one-year permit because he risked being tortured and killed in his home country of Iraq.