Anti-Islam Activist Murdered in Sweden Had Bounty on His Head for Staging Quran-Burning Protests
Swedish authorities confirmed to CNN that Iraqi activist Salwan Momika, whose 2023 Quran-burning protests in Sweden drew international attention, was shot and killed during a live broadcast in his Södertälje apartment on Wednesday. [Södertälje is located approximately 20 miles southwest of Stockholm.] Stockholm police told CNN that five people have been arrested in connection with the murder.
At the time of his death, Momika was on trial at Stockholm’s District Court, facing charges of “incitement to racial hatred,” according to the report. Lawyer Goran Lundahl told CNN that a verdict in the case was scheduled for Thursday but has now been postponed.
in 2023, Momika told CNN he had arrived in Sweden in 2018. He said he believed the Quran “should be banned in the world because of the danger it causes to democracy, ethics, human values, human rights, and women’s rights. It just doesn’t work in this time and age.”
Prior to the protests, Momika was initially denied a police permit. He appealed that decision to Stockholm’s Court of Appeals, citing freedom of speech, and it was overturned, per CNN.
According to CNN:
An account on X purporting to be Momika regularly posted updates on his 2025 trial to more than 230,000 followers. The account also regularly posted anti-Islam sentiments.Earlier this month, the account was asking for donations to go towards a lawyer, who would reportedly help Momika gain asylum in the United States.A prosecutor will now be in charge of investigating the murder, the Stockholm police spokesperson said.Security services will also be involved in the investigation, as there is a risk that Momika’s murder could be linked to foreign powers, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told a press briefing Thursday, according to public broadcaster SVT.
Momika’s supporters took to X on Thursday, expressing their sadness and anger over his killing. In the post below, Dr. Manoj Pandey spoke for many of them.
Dr. Pandey followed up with an emotional appeal to Momika’s supporters. He lamented the Islamification of Europe and ask how long it will take “before Sweden is unrecognizable, ruled by the very ideology it refuses to confront?”
Salwan Momika was executed during a live broadcast.A man #Sweden spent months persecuting, harassing, and preparing to deport is now dead.#Sweden, you did this. You tormented him, arrested him, silenced him, and left him exposed to the radicals he warned about.You were going to deport him to an #Islamic country where he’d be killed—while letting terrorists, rapists, murderers, and bombers stay. #IslamizedSweden has become a playground for jihadists, punishing the few brave enough to speak the truth.And now? #Momika’s hate speech trial was scheduled for today. The court was set to convict him for “desecrating the Quran,” enforcing Islamic blasphemy laws in what used to be a free country. But now? They have to postpone the ruling. Why? Because their defendant was just assassinated.Does this sound like #Europe? Or does it sound like a full-fledged Islamic caliphate, where critics of #Islam are hunted and executed?How much more will it take? How many more executions? How much more appeasement? How long before #Sweden is unrecognizable, ruled by the very ideology it refuses to confront?The West needs to wake up. This isn’t just #Sweden’s fate—it’s the fate of every nation too cowardly to stand up.You were…— Dr.Manoj Pandey (@mpandey03) January 30, 2025
Dr. Pandey is correct. According to the World Population Review, in 2024, Muslims comprised 6.87% of Sweden’s population. In France, they accounted for 10%; in Belgium, 7.6%; in the United Kingdom, 5.86%; in Germany, 5.54%; and in Italy, 4.8%.
Although Muslims remain a minority in these countries, their numbers grow each year. Rather than assimilating into the cultures of their adopted nations, they expect accommodation by those around them. Their influence continues to expand. European governments are playing with fire and if they persist in their current path of appeasement, the consequences in the years ahead will be grave.
Elizabeth writes commentary for The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation and a member of the Editorial Board at The Sixteenth Council, a London think tank. Please follow Elizabeth on X or LinkedIn.
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