Boko Haram
On 14 April 2014 a bomb exploded in a crowded bus station in Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria. 75 people were reported dead, while 178 were reported to be injured (Al Jazeera, 2014). These people were the most recent victims of the Islamic terrorist sect known as Boko Haram. Activity from Boko Haram has been increasing in recent years, generating fear among Nigerians. The successes of Boko Haram’s attacks combined with the Nigerian government’s inability to effectively control the group create the potential for Boko Haram to cause significant dilemmas in Nigeria and Africa.
The exact year of Boko Haram’s origin have been debated. Onuoha notes that the group’s original beginnings come from a 1995 group led by Abubakah Lawan, known as “Ahlulsunna wal’jama’ah hijra” (Onuoha, 2010). It seems that most scholars and researchers, however, credit the founding of the current Boko Haram to Mohammed Yusuf in 2002(Adibe, 2014). It is clear that under the leadership of Yusuf, the group made significant gains and expansions. Yusuf was responsible for moving Boko Haram toward the mindset that Western education and civilization are sinful, which is the rough translation of “Boko Haram” (Salaam, 2014). After the death of Yusuf one of his deputies, Abu Muhammed Abubakar bin Muhammad Shekau, became the current leader of Boko Haram (Onuoha, 2010).
Boko Haram’s main objective is to overthrow the Nigerian government, and implement Sharia Law in all states of Nigeria. They believe the government is full of corrupt and sinful individuals, who fail to live by the words of the Quran. Shria law is a set of Islamic laws that come from the Quran. The regulations and laws within Sharia are very strict, and include severe punishments like stoning...
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...Boko Haram crisis explained . African Security Review , , 54-67.
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Terrorist organizations in Somalia, located within the Horn of Africa, present a current threat to the region and to United States (U.S.) interests. This paper will address the implication of a terrorist network within Somalia by analyzing the actions and motivations of Al-Shabab, the Somali Government, and the United States. Al-Shabab is gathering support by using religion, undermining the Somali Government, and by providing jobs and opportunities for the people of Somalia. If Al-Shabab continues growing in power it could lead to more extreme terrorists attacks in Somalia and the region.
Kash, Douglas A. “An International Legislative Approach to 21st-Century Terrorism.” The Future of Terrorism: Violence in the New Millennium. Ed. Harvey W. Kushner. London: Sage Publications, 1998.
Religious leaders preach with such zeal and assuredness that their interpretations do not leave any room for questioning. This can be a reassuring factor to somebody who is scrutinizing their place in society. According to Hofmann and Dawson, the violent acts are acceptable under the teachings of these charismatic leaders because they are professed to be divinely inspired and acted upon by God’s will (Hofmann & Dawson 2013?, 350). These teachings performed by clerics can be distributed around the world via the internet and have become an effective strategy in recruiting people to their cause. This strategy forms the basis of a terrorist cell which can work independently of the organization while still maintaining its overall goals. This “leaderless resistance” is a term coined by a preeminent figure in the white supremacist movement (Hoffman 2006, 115). It has been adopted by many of the existing terrorist organizations including al Qaeda and has proven an effective tactic. Ironically, it has provided the leaders of terrorist groups an avenue to expand their jihadist movement to an ever increasing global
Reich, W. (1998). Origins of Terrorism: Psychologies, Ideologies, Theologies, States of Mind. Washington, D.C.: The Woodrow Wilson center Press.
According to the CIA.gov, 50% of the Nigeria population are Muslim and 40% and Christian. The Islamic group believes that northern Nigeria is controlled by corrupt, false Muslims (“Curbing Violence in Nigeria (II)”). Therefore, Boko Haram wants to fix this by creating a fully Islamic State in the north while following the Islamic law, Sharia (“Curbing Violence in Nigeria (II)”). A preacher named Mohammed Yusuf established the Boko Haram group in Northern Nigeria nearly 12 years ago with intentions to develop an Islamic state. Prior to 2009, the Nigerian government underestimated the warnings and militant character of Boko Haram (Wikipedia.org). “Boko Haram 's trademark was originally the use of gunmen on motorbikes, killing police, politicians and anyone who criticises it, including clerics from other Muslim traditions and Christian preachers” (Chothia). In 2009, a flood of attacks were carried out by Boko Haram targeting police stations and other government buildings in a Northeast city called Maiduguri (Chothia). “Hundreds of Boko Haram supporters were killed and thousands of residents fled the city” (Chothia). Yusuf was also captured and executed by police during these attacks. Thereafter, Abubakar Shekau took control and a more rebellious and destructive Boko Haram group came about (Karimi and Carter). “Curbing Violence in
...geria (II): The Boko Haram Insurgency. International Crisis Group Report, 7-37. Retrieved June 29, 2014, from http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/africa/west-africa/nigeria/216-curbing-violence-in-nigeria-ii-the-boko-haram-insurgency.pdf
Extremism manifests itself dangerously in the Islam religion (Palmer, Monte, and Princess Palmer, 37). The Muslim religion has some laws and believes that no one should question their design, origin or application. Good people should punish immoral people in Islam religion without showing mercy to them. In Islam, human beings have no right to offer forgiveness to others that can easily lead to and create peace to oneself in the society. The unforgiving nature makes human rights groups in many ways try to change and support governments that try to overthrow Muslim extremist governments. Such an approach creates a war never ending between the Muslim governments and other governments that fight the extremist ideals. In East Africa, Somalia presents a case example by observing how the Government is not able to control the ever fighting and dreadful Al-Shabaab. The “Al-Shabaab” is an Arab name for Muslim youth who over the years try to use enforce extremist rulers in governing the country and hence controlling the resources. Muslim fighters and rebels arm themselves with arsenals they use to fight groups that oppose them by killing and torturing them. The al-Shabaab launches attacks that kill people and openly claim responsibility for the losses and the deaths they cause. They also punish members who commit sin using the retrogressive laws of the Quran on the people they label sinners. Other extremist
What is Boko Haram? The meaning of Boko Haram is “Western education is forbidden”. In 2013, the U.S. listed Boko Haram under the category of the “Foreign Terrorist Organization” (“Boko Haram Fast Facts”). In order to understand Boko Haram it is important to know the history, how it affects other foreign countries, and the purpose of Boko Haram is trying to achieve.
...at shocked me through all these articles is how there weren’t a single positive story about Nigeria. I had to get to the third page before I found something that was “kind of positive” about Nigeria. These definitely illustrate what the speaker was saying about single stories. Also 8 out of 10 stories where related to Boko haram. Therefore it won’t be a surprise for me to hear that people believe that Boko haram is the daily cup of tea. I didn’t really found anything that was directly related to the chapter because most of the stories were about BOKO haram crisis. The only thing that I found related to the chapter was how the Biafra war that has opposed the three major’s ethnics groups: Yoruba, Igbo and Hausas is still reflecting on the actual Nigerian crisis. In the north were these crisis are occurring, only certain ethnic groups or religious groups are attacked.
Nigeria is the most populated nation in Africa and lies on the continents fault line between the largely muslim north and the predominantly christian south. For several years now radical muslims have been carrying out a holy war or “jihad” against christians in Nigeria in hopes of one day establishing a separate Islamic state in the country’s north. Over the last decade there have been thousands of christian fatalities perpetrated by muslim extremist.
Whenever there is a major crime against humanity or a crime done by a religious group we often think of how bad the acts have been and look at who to blame, we are rarely looking at what positive impacts that set acts have had in the aftermath of the action. In this paper I will look at what Boko Haram have done in Nigeria, and what kind of positive impacts that have risen in the aftermath as well as their search for national identity.
Ofiaja, A. (2014, May 13). To Understand Boko Haram, The West Must Look More Closely At Itself Than At Nigeria . Policy Mic.