Watan-Social media has been buzzing in the past few hours with an alleged news story about the killing of the Iraqi-origin “Quran burner,” Salwan Momika, in Norway, where he had recently moved after being deported from Sweden.
The news claimed that Salwan Momika, the man who had burned the Quran several times in Sweden, was found dead inside the apartment he lived in in Norway.
Upon investigating and verifying the circulated news about the killing of the Iraqi refugee in Sweden (Salwan Momika), who had previously organized several incidents of desecrating and burning the Quran in the capital Stockholm, no source confirming its accuracy was found.
No international or local Norwegian or Swedish media outlets have reported a similar story regarding Moomika’s death.
This news comes just days after Moomika announced his departure from Sweden to Norway after his residence permit was revoked.
The Iraqi national extremist Moomika arrived in Sweden in the spring of 2018. In April 2021, he was granted a temporary residence permit. After an incident in the summer of 2021, he was convicted of unlawful threats.
“No longer welcome”
In October 2023, the Swedish Migration Agency decided not to extend his permit because he had provided false information. Moomika says he decided to leave Sweden when he felt “no longer welcome in the country.”
Moomika claimed that Sweden allowed him to burn the Quran and that he had the “right” to do so. At the same time, he accused Sweden of persecuting him, closing his bank accounts, revoking his asylum, and seizing his home.
According to the expressen website, Moomika’s actions and Quran burning have affected Sweden’s international relations, including with Turkey, which took a long time to approve Sweden’s membership in the NATO defense alliance.
In Iraq, the city of Kufa offered a reward of two million dollars and a Quran made of two kilograms of gold to anyone who would kill him. The government in Baghdad requested his extradition.
Moomika left Sweden after the Swedish Migration Agency canceled his residence permit in October 2023. According to “Expressen,” on the morning of last Wednesday, a truck was waiting for him outside his temporary residence outside Stockholm.
The Quran burner, 37-year-old Salwan Momika, boarded the car to leave Sweden forever.
In a post on his Twitter account previously, he said, “I’m on my way to Norway.” He claimed that Sweden only accepts “terrorists” who are granted asylum and protection, while philosophers and thinkers are deported.