Norway detains Iraqi national Momika for repeatedly burning Quran copies in Sweden

By Leila Nezirevic

LONDON (AA) – Salwan Momika, an Iraqi Christian known for publicly burning copies of Islam's holy book Quran in Sweden, has been arrested in Norway, with authorities saying his presence poses a threat to the Nordic country, local media reported on Thursday.

In March, Momika told Swedish media that he planned to seek asylum in neighboring Norway following a deportation order issued by Stockholm authorities.

Norwegian police detained the Iraqi man upon his arrival in the Nordic country on March 28. He has been held in the immigration detention center at Trandum for several days, local online media outlet Filter Nyheter said, adding that Momika is likely to remain there until he is deported to Sweden.

"A dispatch will take place as soon as the formal and practical arrangements are in place," according to a ruling from the Oslo district court seen by Filter Nyheter.

The ruling states that the Directorate of Immigration is expected to immediately ask Sweden to take Momika back under the Dublin Agreement.

The Oslo District Court believes that there are "concrete grounds for assuming that the foreigner will evade the implementation" of such a deportation, and therefore, it allowed the police's immigration unit to detain Momika.

During the asylum registration last week, Momika is said to have stated "that the Norwegian authorities will contribute to him being killed if he is returned to Sweden," according to the district court ruling.

According to the Oslo District Court ruling, the country's security service wrote a separate assessment of the situation the day after the arrest, stating that Momika is "considered to be a threat to fundamental national interests," the online media outlet said.

Just the day before he was arrested in Eastern Norway, the Iraqi blasphemer claimed that Sweden had betrayed him and that he was leaving for Norway as a result.

"I'm moving to a country that will welcome and respect me. Sweden does not respect me," he told Swedish tabloid Expressen.

The Iraqi was aware that the Dublin Regulation could be used to deport him to Sweden, so he indirectly threatened to burn a copy of the Quran once more, the Filter Nyheter reported.
“If they do, I will again become a burden that requires camera surveillance, police protection and other things. If they do, I may exercise my rights to freedom of expression again,” he said on the day of departure.

The man was initially granted a residence permit in Sweden in 2021 and has since become known for organizing a series of Quran copy burnings in public places in the Nordic country.

Momika's deportation was confirmed by the Swedish Migration Court last month, but the judges decided to grant him a temporary residence permit that will expire on April 16, Expressen reported.

“The deportation decision cannot be enforced to Iraq as long as he risks persecution or other protection-based treatment there,” Chief Councilor Karin Dahlin said in a press release at the time.

In addition to the expulsion, Momika is barred from returning to Sweden for five years and is not eligible for international protection because he is believed to have committed a serious crime.

The burning of Quran copies in Sweden and Denmark under the pretext of free speech has sparked outrage in Muslim countries, including attacks on diplomatic missions.

Following large protests in the Muslim world, Denmark passed legislation in December last year making it illegal to burn copies of the Quran in public places, while Sweden is still considering legal options that would allow police to refuse permits for demonstrations based on national security concerns.