Path of provocateur: From Iraqi militant to Quran burner A Herostratus in Sweden

Sweden, known for its quiet and provincial nature, rarely makes headlines for major crimes. However, a murder that took place on January 29 in Södertälje, a quiet suburb of Stockholm, made global news. The victim was 38-year-old Salwan Sabah Matti Momika, an Iraqi-born man who had gained notoriety in recent years for his high-profile Islamophobic actions.

Salwan Momika was a native of Bakhdida, one of the largest Christian centers in Iraq’s Nineveh province. He was an ethnic Assyrian and was raised in the Catholic faith. During the Iraqi civil war, Momika joined the Assyrian Patriotic Party and worked as a guard at its headquarters in Mosul. It is possible that he participated in combat against ISIS.

According to data published by Iraqi government officials, Salwan Momika was sentenced to three years in prison in 2012 for a fatal car accident and was forced to flee his hometown to evade justice.

In June 2014, after Mosul was captured by ISIS militants, Momika joined a militia to fight against the fundamentalists. Videos circulating online show him declaring himself a fighter of the Brigade of the Spirit of God Jesus, Son of Mary (Kataib Rouh Allah Issa Ibn Miriam). Notably, this unit was a Christian subdivision of the Imam Ali Brigades, a Shiite faction closely linked to Iran. Western countries accused the Imam Ali Brigades of being an Iranian proxy force, committing war crimes, and engaging in sectarian violence.

That same year, Momika founded the Syrian Democratic Union and the militia known as the Hawks, both affiliated with the pseudo-Christian group Babylon Brigades. All these organizations were also overseen by Iran. According to some reports, Salwan Momika received support from the government of the Kurdish autonomous region in Iraq as well. Ultimately, he became embroiled in a conflict with Rayan al-Kildani, the leader of the Babylon Movement, and was forced to leave Iraq.

In 2017, Momika arrived in Germany on a Schengen visa, where he publicly renounced Christianity and declared himself an atheist. In April 2018, he applied for asylum in Sweden, and in 2021, he was granted a three-year residence permit in the Scandinavian country. However, the renewal of his residence permit became uncertain after Swedish authorities discovered his connections to the Imam Ali Brigades. Momika claimed that he had only been in contact with the movement’s political wing rather than its military branch, but after providing false information, his chances of obtaining Swedish citizenship were reduced to zero.

In Sweden, the restless émigré clearly had no intention of leading a peaceful life. While still under investigation for his ties to Iranian groups, Salwan Momika was sentenced to a suspended prison term and community service for making threats and attacking his roommate with a knife. He also established connections with Swedish far-right radicals.

Momika developed particularly close ties with the Sweden Democrats, a party known for its opposition to immigration and support for Western intervention in Middle Eastern affairs. Later, he announced his intention to run for the Swedish parliament, the Riksdag, as a candidate from this party.

Starting in 2023, Salwan Momika became an active Islamophobe. He posted dozens of xenophobic videos online and organized several anti-Islam demonstrations. This culminated in the public burning of the Quran, which sparked global outrage. As a result, TikTok disabled his ability to receive and send donations.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson acknowledged that while burning the Quran in front of a mosque was legally permitted, he considered it a deliberate provocation. In response, Iraq demanded Momika’s extradition, and the Swedish embassy in Baghdad was attacked by enraged protesters.

The Swedish Migration Agency decided that Momika had crossed the line and ordered his expulsion from the country. However, due to worldwide threats against him, instead of deportation, he was granted a one-year residence permit. He then attempted to move to Norway and applied for asylum there, but in April 2024, Norwegian authorities deported him back to Sweden.

In August 2024, Salwan Momika and his associate, Salwan Najem, another Iraqi national, were charged with a hate crime. The trial took place just a few days ago, and the verdict was scheduled to be delivered on January 30, 2025. Momika remained optimistic, stating, “I chose Sweden because I knew it was a country where law and order apply equally to everyone. I know that Sweden and Swedish society protect freedom of speech and the right to question and criticize religion.”

He insisted that he did not intend to “harm the country that welcomed him and preserved his dignity.” According to the newspaper Aftonbladet, Momika explained that he hoped the Quran would eventually be banned in Sweden. “Until then, I will burn the Iraqi flag and the Quran in front of the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm,” he told the Swedish press, denying that his actions constituted hate crimes.

But fate had other plans.

On January 29, 2025, the Stockholm police press service reported that “a man in his forties was found shot in an apartment and transported to the hospital.” Initially, the victim's name was not disclosed, but it was later confirmed that the target of the attack was Salwan Momika. Reports suggest that he was shot while livestreaming on TikTok.

Swedish media reported that authorities had already arrested five suspects, all of whom are over the age of 18.

Despite the tragic outcome, Swedish authorities likely breathed a sigh of relief at the news of Momika’s killing, having recklessly granted him asylum in the first place. His orchestrated provocations had caused serious diplomatic tensions between Sweden and the Muslim world—tensions that now seem to have subsided. His biography paints the picture of a classic opportunist, determined to achieve notoriety at any cost.

During his short but eventful life, Salwan Momika managed to be an Iraqi Catholic, a militant in a Shiite organization, a Kurdish agent, an atheist, and a potential far-right MP in the Swedish parliament. Entangled in the complexities of Iraqi politics, he sought to exploit Europe’s rising Islamophobic sentiment, but as it turned out, the infamy of a Herostratus is a double-edged sword.

One can only hope that the tragic fate of this Iraqi opportunist serves as a warning to those who seek to build a career by fueling hatred and violence.