Quran burner Salwan Momika killed in Sweden: Social media users celebrate

Iraqi activist, Salwan Momika who burned the holy Quran has been shot dead in Sweden on Wednesday evening. According to local media reports, he was shot inside his apartment at Södertälje, Stockholm, Sweden.  

Momika has been surrounded with controversy and death threats, after he set fire to a copy of the Islam's most holy book ‘The Quran’. He did this controversial act outside the Stockholm Central Mosque in 2023, which lead to a widespread violent protest in the major Muslim countries against him.  

He was charged for his doings in August 2023, along with other charges including provoking agitation against a specific ethnic group. The final verdict over this was due to be delivered to him on Thursday, a day after he was shot dead.  

When was Salwan Momika killed? 

According to a few reports from local media sites, the incident took place at around 11:00 pm when Momika was live streaming on social media. The authorities have detained 5 individuals, who are suspected to be involved in the Momika’s killing, however no details of his injuries have been detailed yet. 

The verdict of the court has been also postponed considering the incident. The court will announce its final sentence for the rest of the defendants at a later date.  

Notably, Momika’s protests included the burning of Quran, which invited a lot of debate and protests to his way. This heinous act was slammed in many different major Muslim countries.  

Netizens react on Salwan Momika’s shooting  

However, Momika’s death has now acted as a relief to Muslims who state his death as “well deserved” on social media.  

“Every action has reaction, provocation is the root cause of hatred between humans,” a user wrote on Facebook.  

Ahmad M Gdaisat, another user wrote on social media, “He shouldn't do all of this, and he asked for that, more than 1 billion Muslims rejected what's he did, Islam and Muslims didn't do anything for him. He tried to insult Islam many times, and many Muslims warned him in many ways. he deserves it.” 

“What did he expect? Making others angry and expecting a hug and love? Use your logic,” wrote another user on Facebook.