From militia leader to refugee: The backstory of the man who burned a Koran in Sweden

The image at the left shows Salwan Momika, a Christian Iraqi immigrant who burned a Koran in front of a Stockholm mosque, wearing the uniform of a pro-Iran Iraqi militia. The image on the right shows Momika while burning the Koran on June 28, 2023. © Observers © France 24 Observers

Soon after a Christian Iraqi man named Salwan Momika burned a Koran in front of Sweden’s largest mosque on June 28, 2023, it was reported that he was a member of a Swedish ultra-nationalist party. Then videos from Momika’s past in Iraq started to surface. This footage showed him wearing the uniform of an Iraqi militia with close links to Iran – a militia that has been accused of war crimes. Momika apparently burned the Koran just a few months after his application for citizenship was denied. 

A Christian man who immigrated from Iraq to Sweden stomped on a Koran then burnt it on June 28, 2023, in front of Stockholm’s largest mosque on the first day of the Muslim holiday of Eid.