Anti-Islam Provocateur to Be Deported from Sweden, Court Rules
Salwan Momika, who came to Sweden in 2021 and received a residence permit, was denied an extension by immigration authorities last October. They found that he had lied about his reasons for seeking asylum in Sweden, which he denies.
Momika appealed the decision, but the court rejected his appeal and confirmed his expulsion. He is also banned from returning to Sweden for five years and loses his eligibility for international protection, as he is deemed to have committed a serious crime, Swedish media outlets reported on Wednesday.
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However, the court also granted him a temporary residence permit until April 16, as he cannot be sent back to Iraq immediately due to an alleged risk of persecution.
Momika has been notorious for his anti-Islamic acts in Sweden in the past year. In one of the latest provocations, he desecrated the Holy Quran while waving and kissing the Israeli flag on October 21, 2023, amid the Israeli aggression on Gaza Strip that had killed thousands of Palestinians. He was being protected by the Swedish police while carrying out the provocative act in Stockholm.
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His actions have sparked outrage and protests in many Muslim countries, as well as attacks on Swedish and Danish diplomatic missions. Denmark, where similar Quran burnings have taken place, passed a law last December to ban such acts in public.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has urged its members to take political and economic measures against countries that allow Quran desecration.
Sweden, on the other hand, is still weighing its legal options to prevent such demonstrations on national security grounds. Sweden, along with Denmark and the Netherlands, has faced strong criticism for permitting public Quran burnings under the guise of free speech.
Source: Agencies
