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The Preventable Death of Salwan Momika — and How It Exposed the Weaknesses of Sweden’s Immigration System
Salwan Momika. Photo: Screenshot
The Jan. 29 murder of Iraqi refugee and activist Salwan Momika — killed in his Stockholm apartment while live-streaming on TikTok — has sparked crucial questions about Swedish immigration policy. Momika, who had gained global notoriety for publicly burning the Quran, became a flashpoint in Sweden’s ongoing struggle to balance free speech, religious sensitivity, and immigration security.
While Momika’s death was widely reported, few media outlets have gone on to ask about the ways his death, or the tumult brought about by his actions in life, could have been avoided by the Swedish immigration system. At a time when European nations are reeling from poorly managed immigration policy — which has led to migrant violence and social disorder, with widely different solutions proposed — Momika’s story provides a microcosm for some of the issues these countries face.
Momika was a controversial figure in life and death, championed by some as a hero of free speech and a prophet foreseeing the threat of radical Islam in Europe. To others, he was a hideous blasphemer, a radical hatemonger on a mission to incite against his countrymen and their coreligionists, or just a fraudster looking for attention.
Born in 1986 to a Catholic Assyrian family in northern Iraq, Momika’s path to Sweden was marked by conflict. During the heyday of Islamic State (ISIS), he commanded a Christian brigade within the Iran-affiliated Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). A dispute with fellow Assyrian PMF commander Rayan al-Kildani prompted his flight in 2018 to Sweden, where he secured refugee status by 2021. This background would later raise questions about the thoroughness of Sweden’s asylum vetting process.
Sweden’s handling of Momika’s case exposed critical weaknesses in its immigration system. While Swedish law prohibits entry to those who have committed “serious crimes” or pose security threats, significant oversights occurred.
First, despite Momika’s involvement with the Iran-linked Imam Ali Brigades, his military background received insufficient scrutiny. Second, his false statements on his asylum application regarding persecution and prior activities weren’t discovered until after his controversial actions began. These systemic failures became more apparent as Momika’s public provocations escalated.
In Sweden, Momika was sentenced to community service after threatening to kill a man while holding a knife. Two years later, in 2023, he began publicly burning the Quran, attracting crowds. His actions triggered diplomatic crises, forcing the Swedish ambassador out of Baghdad at the hands of an angry Iraqi crowd, as the burning also drew furious demonstrations in other Muslim countries. But Sweden chose not to take any decisive action against him under its highly permissive free speech laws.
After Momika’s anti-Islam activities intensified, the Swedish government considered deporting him, noting he had lied on his application about his former activities with the Imam Ali Brigades. Due to lack of sufficient security and background checks, Sweden demonstrated an abject failure of immigration policy by allowing a former pro-Iran brigade commander to seek asylum, without further questions asked.
Sweden only provided a verdict on Momika’s anti-Islam demonstrations once he had died. On Feb. 2, following Momika’s murder, his co-activist, 50-year-old Iraqi-Swede Salwan Najem, was fined 4,000 crowns for the pair’s activities, classified as hate speech by the court, which concluded that Momika and Najem had exceeded the line of protected speech by a wide margin and had engaged in incitement against an ethnic group.
While Momika’s murder is still being investigated, with five suspects released from custody two days after his death, it is in line with other crimes committed by Muslim vigilantes against perceived opponents of the faith. It’s possible that Momika’s murderer was another Middle Eastern refugee in asylum who had taken advantage of Sweden’s lax vetting and arrived under similarly questionable circumstances. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson even said that a “foreign power” may have been behind the activist’s death.
Sweden’s lax security regarding Momika’s entry and residence in Sweden raise important questions. For example, to what extent have affiliates of Iran managed to gain asylum in Sweden and other Nordic countries? While Momika was clearly not acting on behalf of the Iranian government, it appears possible that Iranian agents could take advantage of similarly lax immigration policies to further Iran’s agenda in Europe.
In short, there are serious weaknesses in the Swedish immigration system, where accurate background checks need to be enacted to keep out hostile agents seeking to further a nefarious agenda.
Likewise, Momika’s attacker, while not yet identified (and who may never be identified), was likely an Islamist vigilante looking to punish him for his public blasphemy against Islam, in line with the opinions of multiple high-profile Islamic scholars and in keeping with the opinions on the street in much of the Muslim world. Multiple sources on Iraqi social media named Omar al-Aani from Fallujah as a suspect in the murder who was temporarily detained, although authorities in Sweden have not disclosed the names of those who were questioned.
Iraqis angry at Momika’s behavior for religious reasons also had extra motivation to target him. Indeed, the city of Kufa in Iraq offered a bounty of $2 million and a 2kg gold Quran to anyone who killed Momika. His extradition had also been demanded by the government in Baghdad.
Following Momika’s death, Muslims of many different backgrounds — including some of his fellow Iraqis, a member of the Indian National Congress, and others — celebrated and gloated about what happened.
If the killer turns out to have been another migrant, it will highlight the potential danger of migrants to each other. Throughout Europe, much anger has been voiced around crimes by immigrants against native locals, but little attention has been given to the potential for exporting sectarian conflicts from the Middle East and elsewhere to Western soil, among citizens of the same home country living abroad. For example, should Momika’s murderer turn out to be a Sunni Iraqi, it would represent a frightening extension of Iraqi sectarian violence into the borders of a country thousands of miles away.
On top of all this, consider the Swedish Prime Minister’s suggestion that a foreign country may have been involved in the killing of Momika. Was there no prior intelligence to suggest the magnitude of danger he was in, even as he warned both the public and the authorities of the threats against him? Was the Swedish government afraid of being seen as sheltering him? If so, who were they afraid of?
The Swedish government’s indecision between security and tolerance, combined with its “please-everybody-and-nobody mentality,” were directly responsible for Momika’s death. Had they refused him asylum or expelled him quickly on account of his past in Iraq or the diplomatic liability and civil unrest he generated, they would have demonstrated a cohesive policy. On the other hand, had they doubled down on the importance of free speech and recognized the imminent threats to Momika’s life, they also would have demonstrated a cohesive policy — and possibly saved his life. The Momika case illustrates the urgent need for reform in Swedish (and broader European) immigration policy. Three specific areas require immediate attention:
- More rigorous background verification systems for asylum seekers
- Clear protocols for handling cases involving potential security risks
- Consistent policy application balancing free speech protection with public safety
Sweden’s experience offers crucial lessons for other European nations grappling with similar challenges. The goal must be to develop immigration policies that maintain humanitarian commitments while ensuring public safety and social cohesion. Otherwise, Momika will certainly not be the last to be denied justice in the midst of Europe’s immigration crisis.
The post The Preventable Death of Salwan Momika — and How It Exposed the Weaknesses of Sweden’s Immigration System first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran Criticizes Arab-Islamic Summit Statement, Flags Objections After Doha Meeting
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of Qatar, attends the emergency Arab-Islamic leaders’ summit in Doha, Qatar, Sept. 15, 2025. Photo: Hassan Bargash Al Menhali / UAE Presidential Court/Handout via REUTERS
Iran has criticized the final statement of the Arab-Islamic Summit held in Doha on Monday as insufficient, in the wake of last week’s Israeli attack targeting the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in Qatar.
In a statement released shortly after the summit, Iran reaffirmed its “unwavering support for the Palestinian people and their right to self-determination,” while arguing that a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict cannot adequately address the Palestinian issue.
According to the Iranian delegation, “the only real and lasting solution is the establishment of a single democratic state across all of Palestine, through a referendum involving all Palestinians inside and outside the occupied territories.”
On Monday, Qatar held a summit of Arab and Islamic nations in the aftermath of last week’s Israeli strike on Hamas, with leaders gathering to express support and discuss regional responses.
The Sept. 9 strike targeting leaders of the Palestinian terrorist group in Doha marked a significant escalation of Israeli military operations, reflecting Jerusalem’s broader efforts to dismantle the terrorist group amid the ongoing war in Gaza.
Expressing solidarity with Qatar, summit leaders condemned Israel’s strike, labeling it “cowardly, illegal, and a threat to collective regional security.”
In the final statement, the heads of state declared that “an assault on a state acting as a neutral mediator in the Gaza crisis is not only a hostile act against Qatar but also a direct blow to international peace-building efforts.”
Alongside the United States and other regional powers, Qatar has served as a ceasefire mediator during the nearly two-year Gaza conflict, facilitating indirect negotiations between the Jewish state and Hamas.
However, Doha has also backed the Palestinian terrorist group for years, providing Hamas with money and diplomatic support while hosting and sheltering its top leadership.
During the summit, Arab and Muslim leaders called for a review of diplomatic and economic relations with Israel while firmly opposing any attempts to displace Palestinians.
In the final statement, the heads of state also emphasized resisting Israel’s efforts to “impose new realities on the ground,” urged enforcement of International Criminal Court (ICC) warrants for Israeli leaders over war crime allegations adamantly denied by Jerusalem, and coordinated actions to suspend Israel’s UN membership.
Although Iran participated in the summit and endorsed the declaration, its delegation issued a separate statement shortly afterward clarifying that doing so “must in no way be interpreted, explicitly or implicitly, as recognition of the Israeli regime,” reaffirming its rejection of the Jewish state’s right to exist.
Iranian leaders regularly declare their intention to destroy Israel, the world’s lone Jewish state.
The statement also stressed that the Palestinian people have the right to employ “all necessary means to achieve their inalienable right to self-determination,” emphasizing that backing this cause is “a shared duty of the international community.”
As the heads of Arab and Islamic states convened for a summit on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned he did not rule out further strikes on Hamas leaders “wherever they are.”
During a diplomatic visit to Israel, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed strong support for Israel’s position, even as Washington previously voiced concerns over the strike in Qatar, a US ally.
Speaking alongside Netanyahu, Rubio said the only way to end the war in Gaza would be for Hamas to free all hostages and surrender. While the US wants a diplomatic end to the war, “we have to be prepared for the possibility that’s not going to happen,” he said.
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“Your Name Was Included”: UC Berkeley Cooperating With Trump Administration, Admits to Disclosing Names
Students attend a protest encampment in support of Palestinians at University of California, Berkeley during the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Berkeley, US, April 23, 2024. Photo: Carlos Barria via Reuters Connect
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) is cooperating with the Trump administration’s inquiry into campus antisemitism, providing materials containing the names of some 160 people identified in disciplinary reports and other official documents.
As first reported by The Daily Californian, UC Berkeley’s official campus newspaper, the university’s Office of Legal Affairs notified every person affected by the mass disclosure, writing to them on Sept. 4.
“Last spring, the [US Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights, or OCR]] initiated investigations regarding allegations of antisemitic harassment and discrimination at UC Berkeley. As part of its investigation, OCR required production of comprehensive documents, including files and reports related to alleged antisemitic incidents,” chief campus counsel David Robinson wrote. “This notice is to inform you that, as required by law and as per directions provided by the UC systemic Office of General Counsel, your name was included in report as part of the documents provided by OGC [Office of General Counsel] to OCR for its investigations on Aug. 18, 2025.”
He added, “These documents contained information about reports or responses related to antisemitic incidents.”
Anti-Israel activists told the Californian that the university is helping the Trump administration hunt witches.
“I think the message was sent to anybody has who has ever been accused of antisemitism, which of course, includes a lot of Palestinians,” one said, claiming that he has been falsely accused. “Whenever we teach about Palestine, it usually leads to an investigation. I think they flagged and sent all of that information to the federal government.”
Students for Justice in Palestine, infamous for its ties to jihadist terror organizations, also criticized the move, charging that the administration had promised to conceal their identities and thereby obstruct the government’s inquiry.
“Chancellor Rich Lyons should not have given assurances that he wouldn’t be giving our information to the federal government,” the group said. “Beyond that, he should never have bowed down so easily. I would think that a university that prides itself on being this liberal haven would at least stand up to a fascist like Donald Trump.”
UC Berkeley came under scrutiny in 2024 after a mob of hundreds of pro-Palestinian students and non-students shut down an event at its Zellerbach Hall featuring Israeli reservist Ran Bar-Yoshafat, forcing Jewish students to flee to a secret safe room as the protesters overwhelmed campus police.
Footage of the incident showed a frenzied mass of anti-Zionist agitators banging on the doors of Zellerbach. The mob then, according to witnesses, eventually stormed the building — breaking windows in the process, according to reports in The Daily Wire — and precipitated the decision to evacuate the area. During the infiltration of Zellerbach, one of the mob — assembled by Bears for Palestine, which had earlier proclaimed its intention to cancel the event — spit on a Jewish student and called him a “Jew,” pejoratively.
Other incidents, including the university’s employment of a lecturer who tweeted antisemitic images — one of which accused Israel of organ harvesting, a blood libel — the rewarding of academic benefits for participating in anti-Zionist activity, and the banning of Zionist speakers from Berkeley Law, have raised concerns about anti-Jewish hated on campus. In 2017, The Algemeiner ranked UC Berkeley as number five on “The 40 Worst Colleges for Jewish Students.”
In August, an Israeli professor sued the university, alleging that school officials denied her a job because she is Israeli — a claim its own investigators corroborated in an internal investigation, according to her attorneys at the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law.
Filed in the Alameda County Superior Court, the complaint is seeking justice for Dr. Yael Nativ, who taught in UC Berkeley’s Department of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies as a visiting professor in 2022 and received an invitation to apply to do so again for the 2024-2025 academic year just weeks after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre across southern Israel.
A hiring official allegedly believed, however, that an Israeli professor in the department would be unpalatable to students and faculty.
“My dept [sic] cannot host you for a class next fall,” the official allegedly told Nativ in a WhatsApp message. “Things are very hot here right now and many of our grad students are angry. I would be putting the dept and you in a terrible position if you taught here.”
Berkeley’s Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination (OPHD) later initiated an investigation of Nativ’s denial after the professor wrote an opinion essay which publicly accused the school of cowardice and violations of her civil rights. OPHD determined that a “preponderance of evidence” proved Nativ’s claim, but school officials went on to ignore the professor’s requests for an apology and other remedial measures, including sending her a renewed invitation to teach dance. After nearly two years, the situation remains unresolved.
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
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Israel Issues Travel Warning Ahead of Jewish Holidays Amid Rising Attacks, Discrimination Targeting Israelis Abroad
A flag is flown during a protest in support of Palestinians in Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, outside the European Parliament, in Strasbourg, France, Nov. 27, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Yves Herman
Israel has issued a travel warning ahead of the upcoming Jewish high holidays and the second anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, atrocities, alerting citizens of heightened terrorist threats against Israelis and Jewish communities abroad.
On Sunday, the National Security Council (NSC) urged travelers to stay alert, cautioning that the two-year anniversary of the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel could trigger attacks by Iran-backed or Hamas-linked terrorist groups targeting Jews and Israelis abroad.
“The recent period has been characterized by continued efforts to carry out terrorist attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets by the various terrorist organizations (most of them led by Iran and Hamas),” the NSC said in a statement.
“Oct. 7 may again serve as a significant date for terrorist organizations,” the statement read.
Israeli officials warned that the threat mainly stems from Iran and its terrorist proxies, which have increasingly targeted Jews and Israelis beyond Israel’s borders.
In recent months, the NSC reported that dozens of plots have been thwarted, even as violent incidents — including physical attacks, antisemitic threats, and online incitement — have continued to rise.
“With the war ongoing and the terror threat growing, we are witnessing an escalation in antisemitic violence and provocations by anti-Israel elements,” the NSC said in its statement.
“This trend may inspire extremists to carry out attacks against Israelis or Jews abroad,” it continued.
According to the NSC, Iran remains the leading source of terrorism against Israelis and Jews worldwide, acting both directly and through proxies such as Hamas and Hezbollah.
“Iranian motivation is growing in light of the severe blows it suffered in the framework of ‘Operation Rising Lion’ and the growing desire for revenge,” the NSC said in a statement, referring to the 12-day war with Israel in June.
Amid rising tensions over the war in Gaza, Israeli officials have previously warned of Iranian sleeper cells — covert operatives or terrorists embedded in rival countries who remain dormant until they receive orders to act and carry out attacks.
In light of this reality, the NSC also warned that social media posts revealing ties to Israeli security services could put individuals at risk of being targeted.
“We advise against posting any content that suggests involvement in the security services or operational activities, including real-time location updates,” the statement read.
This latest updated warning comes amid a growing hostile environment and a shocking surge in anti-Jewish hate crimes targeting Jews and Israelis worldwide.
Across Europe, Israelis are facing a disturbing surge of targeted attacks and hostility, as a wave of antisemitic incidents — from violent assaults and vandalism to protests and legal actions — spreads amid rising tensions following recent conflicts in the Middle East.
On Saturday, a 29-year-old Israeli and his sister were attacked by three Palestinian men while on vacation in Athens, Greece.
According to local media reports, the two siblings were walking through the city’s center when three unknown individuals carrying Palestinian flags approached them, shouting antisemitic slurs.
The attackers assaulted the Israeli man, a disabled Israel Defense Forces (IDF) veteran, scratching him, throwing him to the ground, and striking him with their flagpoles, while his sister attempted to intervene and protect him.
October 7 is a global war against Jews & Israelis.
Pro-Palestinian radicals just attacked an Israeli man in Syntagma Square, Athens. via @N12News https://t.co/IZR2IdNrUI pic.twitter.com/9S2o4IjtO6
— Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) September 14, 2025
Greek authorities arrested all five individuals involved in the incident. According to the Israeli man’s father, his son was placed in a cell with 10 Arabs, where he was reportedly beaten again and feared for his life.
In a separate antisemitic incident earlier this year, a group of Israeli teenagers was physically assaulted by dozens of pro-Palestinian assailants — some reportedly armed with knives — on the Greek island of Rhodes.
After leaving a nightclub, the teens were followed to their hotel, where they were violently assaulted, leaving several with minor injuries.
In another example of rising anti-Israel sentiment and hostility toward Jewish communities, one of Britain’s most prestigious military academies, the Royal College of Defense Studies, announced Sunday that it will bar Israeli students from enrolling next year, citing concerns over the war in Gaza.
In Belgium, two IDF soldiers attending the Tomorrowland music festival were arrested and interrogated by local authorities following a complaint from the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF), an anti-Israel legal group that pursues legal action against IDF personnel, accusing them of involvement in war crimes.
According to HRF, the soldiers were seen waving the flags of the IDF’s Givati Brigade, which they claimed has been “involved in the systematic destruction of civilian infrastructure in Gaza and in carrying out mass atrocities against the Palestinian population.”
In France, a 34-year-old Algerian man was sentenced to 40 months in prison for threatening passengers with a knife and making antisemitic death threats after boarding a train at Cannes station.
In another incident earlier this year, a Jewish man wearing a kippah was brutally attacked and called a “dirty Jew” in Anduze, a small town in southern France.