Salwan Sabah Matti Momika, a man known for his public demonstrations where he would burn the Quran has been killed.
Salwan Sabah’s lifeless body was discovered in Norway on Tuesday, where he relocated to, from Sweden. Up till his death, the Iraqi refugee and former Christian-turned-atheist, was known as an anti-Islam.
Salwan was also known for his stance on free speech and often described himself as “a liberal atheist critic and thinker”.
Videos of him burning the Quran in the presence of many Muslims abound. Major among them was the footage on Eid, in June 2023, where Salwan Momika trampled on a Quran, and then burnt it in front of Stockholm’s largest mosque.
Salwan left Sweden to his death place in Norway after the Swedish Migration Agency discovered he provided false information in his application for asylum and subsequently revoked his residence permit.
Before his eviction, Sweden allowed him to continue with the desecration of the Muslim holy book citing free speech, though the Swedish foreign minister described his act as “Islamophobia”.
In September 2023, his actions prompted civil unrest in Malmo, Sweden’s third-largest city, after an angry mob tried to prevent Momika from burning a copy of the Quran. The police denied him permission to continue but it was approved by the court.