An Iraqi man who carried out Quran burnings in Sweden is killed in a shooting
apnews.com
Swedish authorities say an Iraqi man who carried out several Quran burnings in Sweden has been killed in a shooting near Stockholm.

Summary

Salwan Momika, the Iraqi man who staged several Quran burnings in Sweden in 2023, was shot and killed in Sodertalje, near Stockholm.

His actions had sparked international outrage, riots, and diplomatic tensions. Swedish police confirmed a murder investigation is underway, and several arrests have been made.

Momika, who sought asylum in Sweden in 2018, faced charges of incitement to hatred, with a verdict scheduled for the day after his death.

His protests were permitted under free speech laws but led to legal action against him.

  • acargitz@lemmy.caEnglish
    41·
    5 hours ago

    How exactly was an Iraqi immigrant in Sweden persecuting anyone? Are we using the word persecution to mean whatever the fuck we like now?

    • IndustryStandard@lemmy.worldEnglish
      21·
      3 hours ago

      He was inciting hate against a population and advocating for their persecution. How severely disconnected and racist are people to not even see this obvious link?

      • acargitz@lemmy.caEnglish
        2·
        2 hours ago

        Is that what he was doing? Or was he protesting what in his own lived experience as a veteran of the war against ISIS was a religion that led to the persecution of his own people (Iraqi Christians)?

        This is not an easy case, there are many intersecting threads and it defies easy hot takes.

        • IndustryStandard@lemmy.worldEnglish
          2·
          2 hours ago

          To find out whether it is a difficult topic, change out the ethnic group being discriminated against.

          Lets say a Palestinian flees to Sweden, starts waving around Swastikas and burning Torahs. How do we feel now?

          If a black person shoots someone they do not get to join the KKK either.

          Just because this person was persecuted by a fringe extremist group, created from the US overthrowing a country, which the overwhelming majority of Muslims denounce, does not give him the right to start misrepresenting and discriminating an entire group.

          • acargitz@lemmy.caEnglish
            1·
            2 hours ago

            “Get to”? “The right to”? What do you think I’m talking about? Oppression credits that can be used to buy a pass for shitty behaviour?

            I’m asking for humanity and empathy, in the case of a guy who got fucking shot, by trying to make the case that this isn’t some cut and dry of some fascist getting their due, but a complicated and sad story.