TikTok Blocks Salwan Momika’s Account for Profiting from His Content

Stockholm, MINA – The popular short video hosting service, TikTok, has blocked the account of Salwan Momika, an Iraqi refugee who burned the Qur’an in Sweden, for profiting from his content.

TikTok officials confirmed the platform had disabled a feature that allowed users to give money to Momika, Swedish Radio reported on Tuesday.

Quoted from Anadolu Agency, from now on users cannot use TikTok’s “gift” feature when interacting with videos uploaded by Momika, which has desecrated the Muslim holy book in a series of anti-Islam protests that sparked anger in many Muslim countries.

Speaking to Swedish news agency TT, Momika, who lives in Stockholm, said the video of her burning the Qur’an was viewed millions of times.

Noting that he earned between $100 to $300 from TikTok in one hour during live streaming. He admitted that he had no other income and that TikTok had turned off this income-generating feature.

The Aftonbladet newspaper reported that Momika was convicted in 2021 of threatening an Eritrean asylum seeker with a knife while he was staying in accommodation hosting refugees.

Momika was sentenced to 80 hours of unpaid labor in public and ordered to pay $1,000 compensation to the asylum seeker.

Meanwhile, renowned retired criminologist Leif Persson suggested that those who abuse freedom of expression by burning copies of the Qur’ran should be sentenced to prison.

“Freedom of expression is not something that ‘a few idiots’ freely use to threaten Sweden’s interests and the lives of every citizen,” Persson told local TV4.

Persson added that in his opinion Momika, Swedish-Danish politician Rasmus Paludan, leader of the far-right Stram Kurs (Hardline) party, or other similar figures, should not be allowed to disrespect the Qur’an like this.

Provocative action of burning Al Qur’an in Sweden and Denmark

Sweden and Denmark have faced much criticism for allowing public desecration of the Qur’an under police protection.

Paludan continued to burn copies of the Qur’an in the Swedish cities of Malmo, Norrkoping and Jonkoping as well as in the capital Stockholm during last year’s Easter holidays.

On January 21, he burned copies of the Qur’an outside the Turkish Embassy in Sweden and on January 27 outside the Turkish Embassy in Denmark.

Momika burns copies of the Muslim holy book outside a mosque in Stockholm on Jan. 28 during Eid al-Adha, one of the Islamic religious holidays celebrated by Muslims around the world.

On July 20 outside the Iraqi Embassy in Sweden, he threw the Koran and an Iraqi flag on the ground and stomped on them. He burned the Koran outside the Swedish parliament on July 31.

Iranian immigrant Bahrami Marjan carried out a similar provocative act on Ängbybadet beach in Stockholm on Aug. 3.

Momika also burned the Qur’an again outside the Iranian Embassy in Stockholm in early August.

He last week also burned a copy of the holy book in front of the Stockholm Mosque. (T/RE1/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)