Burning of Qur'an

By Muhammad Sulaiman

Salwan Momika, the Iraqi refugee known for organizing Quran-burning demonstrations in Sweden, was shot and killed on Wednesday night in Södertälje, near Stockholm.

According to Swedish authorities, police responded to reports of gunfire at an apartment building, where they found Momika with multiple gunshot wounds. He was later pronounced dead. Five individuals have been arrested in connection with the shooting as investigations continue.

Momika gained international notoriety in 2023 for desecrating copies of the Quran, sparking widespread protests and condemnation from Muslim-majority countries. He moved to Sweden in 2018 and had been granted a three-year residence permit.

At the time of his death, he was facing trial for incitement to hatred, with a verdict scheduled for Thursday morning. The court has since postponed the ruling.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson confirmed that the country’s security service is involved in the investigation, citing possible foreign links to the killing.

Authorities are yet to disclose a motive, but the killing has raised concerns over tensions surrounding Momika’s controversial actions.

By Muhammad Sabiu

The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) has issued a press release strongly condemning the recent burning of the Glorious Qur’an in front of the main Mosque in Stockholm, Sweden. 
 
The NSCIA, led by President-General and Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence Alh. Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, CFR, mni, speaks on behalf of the entire Nigerian Muslim Ummah in expressing their outrage and denunciation of this act.
 
The statement partly reads, “This abominable and heinous act is a clear affirmation of the growing high level of Islamophobia while evidencing the impunity of Islamophobes whose hatred for Islam and Muslims knows no bound. Actions and utterances credited to these Islamophobes smack of gross insensitivity, and disrespect for the feelings and sensibilities of nearly two billion Muslims in the World. This is one too many attacks on Mosques in Sweden, especially recalling that of 2015 and another in December 2022, following which a damaged copy of the Qur’an was left chained up and hanging outside the entrance of the Mosque.”
 
The NSCIA, along with global leaders and individuals, condemns this provocative and blasphemous act in the strongest possible terms. The burning of the Qur’an stands as a testament to the growing levels of Islamophobia and the audacity of individuals driven by hatred for Islam and Muslims.
 
Such actions and rhetoric displayed by Islamophobes demonstrate a profound insensitivity and lack of respect for the feelings and beliefs of the nearly two billion Muslims worldwide.
 
This incident is not the first of such incidents in Sweden, with previous instances occurring in 2015 and December 2022, where a damaged copy of the Qur’an was left hanging outside a mosque’s entrance.