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Boko Haram

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Boko Haram
People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet's Teachings and Jihad
جماعة اهل السنةجماعة اهل السنة للدعوة والجهاد
LeadersMohammed Yusuf  †
Mallam Sanni Umaru?[1][2] Abu Darda
Abu Zaid - Spokesman[2]
Dates of operation2002-
HeadquartersKanamma, Nigeria
Active regionsNorthern Nigeria
IdeologyIslamism
OpponentsNigerian State
Battles and warsNigerian Sectarian Violence
Map of Nigerian states that currently implement Shariah

People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet's Teachings and Jihad[3] (Arabic: جماعة اهل السنةجماعة اهل السنة للدعوة والجهاد, jama'atu ahlis sunna lidda'awati wal-jihad), better known by its Hausa name Boko Haram, is a Muslim sect[4] in Nigeria that seeks the strict implementation of Islamic law across the country[4][5]. The sect, whose Hausa name translates as "Western education is sacrilege[4]" or "Western education is a sin[6]" in English, is divided into three factions, with one wing maintaining links with terror outfits in Somalia and North Africa and increasingly using violence. In 2011 alone it was responsible for more than 450 killings in Nigeria[4].

Though it first became known internationally following sectarian violence in Nigeria in 2009, not much is known about its structure and chain of command[7]. The group uses bomb attacks in Nigeria as a strategy of tension.

Etymology

The group's official name is People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet's Teachings and Jihad which is the Arabic translation of Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati wal-Jihad (جماعة اهل السنةجماعة اهل السنة للدعوة والجهاد).

In the town of Maiduguri, where the group was formed in 2002, the residents dubbed it Boko Haram. Loosely translated from the local Hausa language, this means Western education is forbidden. The group earned this name due to its strong opposition to Western education, which it sees as corrupting Muslims[8].

The term "Boko Haram" comes from the Hausa word boko meaning "Animist, western or otherwise non-Islamic education" and the Arabic word haram figuratively meaning "sin" (literally, "forbidden").[9][10][11][12]

Ideology

Boko Haram opposes not only Western education, but Western culture and modern science as well.[13] The group also forbids the wearing of shirts and pants and the act of voting in elections. In its view, the Nigerian state is run by non-believers.[8]

In a 2009 BBC interview, Mohammed Yusuf, then the group's leader, stated that he would reject the fact that the earth is a sphere if it was contrary to Islamic teachings, along with Darwinism and the fact that rain comes from water evaporated by the sun.[9]

Boko Haram has allegedly established connections to Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Al Qaeda's North African branch, and Al Shabaab, an Al Qaeda-affiliated Islamic militant group that seeks to create an Islamic state in Somalia. [14] Leaders of Boko Haram have also indicated publicly that they subscribe to Al Qaeda's ideology.[15]

History

Background

Main article: Islam in Nigeria

Since the fall of the Sokoto Caliphate to the British in 1903, the area's Muslims have tended to resist Western education.[8] Some analysts view the group's emergence as an extension of the Maitatsine riots of the 1980s and subsequent ethnic and religious tensions in the 1990s.[16]

Origin

Ustaz Mohammed Yusuf formed Boko Haram in 2002 in Maiduguri.[16] He established a religious complex that included a mosque and a school. Many poor families from across Nigeria and from neighboring countries enrolled their children in the school, which also served as a recruiting center for jihadis to fight the Nigerian state.[8] In 2004 it moved to Kanamma, Yobe State, where it set up a base called "Afghanistan", used to attack nearby police outposts, killing police officers.[17] Yusuf is hostile to democracy and the secular education system, vowing that "this war that is yet to start would continue for long" if the political and educational system was not changed.[18]

In Bauchi the group was reported as refusing to mix with the local people. The group includes members who come from neighbouring Chad and speak only in Arabic.[19][20]

Clash with the state

In July 2009 the Nigerian police started investigating the group, following reports that the group was arming itself. Several leaders were arrested in Bauchi, sparking deadly clashes with Nigerian security forces which led to the deaths of an estimated 700 people.[21][22][23][24]

Alleged attacks

Prior to the clashes, many Muslim leaders and at least one military official had warned the authorities about Boko Haram. Those warnings were reportedly ignored.[23]

Bauchi is located in Nigeria
Bauchi
Bauchi
Bauchi (Nigeria)

In the state of Yobe, fighters reportedly "used fuel-laden motorcycles" and "bows with poison arrows" to attack a police station.[25] On 30 July, allegations were made that Yusuf himself was killed by Nigerian security forces after being taken into custody.[26]

In January 2010, the group struck again in the Nigerian state of Borno, killing four people in Dala Alemderi ward in Maiduguri metropolis.[27]

On September 7, 2010, Boko Haram freed over 700 inmates from a prison in Bauchi State.[28]

In December 2010, Boko Haram were blamed for a market bombing, following which 92 of its members were arrested by police.[29]

On Friday January 28, 2011, the Borno state candidate of the All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP) for the April 2011 gubernatorial elections was assassinated, along with his brother, four police officers and a 12-year old boy. Boko Haram has been blamed for these killings, other commentators have noted that the assasination of the ANPP governorship candidate Mr. Modu Fannami Gubio was politically motivated. No evidence has been offered for Boko Haram's involvement. [30][31]

On Tuesday February 8, 2011, Boko Haram gave conditions for peace. The radicals demanded that the Borno State Governor, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, should step down from office with immediate effect and also allow members to reclaim their mosque in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State. [32] On 9th May 2011 Boko Haram rejected an offer for amnesty made by the governor-elect of Borno state, Kashim Shettima[33]

On March 29, police “thwarted a plot to bomb an [ANPP] election rally” in Maiduguri, Borno State (map). The threat was blamed on Boko Haram.

On April 1 (the day before the original date of Nigeria’s legislative elections), suspected Boko Haram members attacked a police station in Bauchi (map).

On April 9, a polling center in Maiduguri was bombed.

On April 15, the Maiduguri office of the Independent National Electoral Commission was bombed, and several people were shot in a separate incident on the same day. Authorities suspected Boko Haram.

On April 20, Boko Haram killed a Muslim cleric and ambushed several police officers in Maiduguri.

On April 22, Boko Haram freed 14 prisoners during a jailbreak in Yola, Adamawa State (map)[34]

Boko Haram was blamed for a series of bombings in northern Nigeria on May 29, 2011 that left 15 dead.[35]

On June 17, 2011, the group claimed responsibility for a bombing attack on the police force headquarters in Abuja that occurred the previous day. Officials believed that the attack was the first suicide bombing in Nigeria's history and that it specifically targeted Police Inspector-General Hafiz Ringim.[36]

On June 26, 2011, the sect carried out a bombing attack on a beer garden in Maiduguri, according to officials and witnesses. Militants on motorcycles threw explosives into the drinking spot, killing about 25 people.[37]

On June 27, 2011, another bombing in Maiduguri attributed to the group killed at least two girls and wounded three customs officials.[38]

On July 03, 2011, a bombing in a beer garden in Maiduguri attributed to the group killed at least twenty people.[39]

On July 10, 2011, a bombing at the All Christian Fellowship Church in Suleja, Niger State. [40]

On July 11, 2011, the University of Maiduguri closed its Institution down citing security concerns. [41]

The prominent Muslim Cleric Liman Bana was shot dead by Boko Haram on August 12, 2011. He died after sustaining gunshot wounds while walking home from conducting prayers at the main mosque in Ngala.[42]

On August 26, the UN headquarters in Abuja was blown up by a suicide car bomber, leaving at least 21 dead and dozens more injured. A Boko Haram spokesman later claimed responsibility.[43] Four men appeared in an Abuja magistrates' court charged with organising the bombing, and were remanded in custody to a federal high court hearing.[44]

October 16, 2011: Police suspected that members of Boko Haram shot and killed politician Modu Bintube outside of his home in Maiduguri.[45]

October 22, 2011: Spokesman Abu Qaqa indicated that the militant group had slain Alhaji Zakariya Isa, a Nigerian Television Authority journalist, claiming that he was a government informant.[46]

November 5, 2011: A series of coordinated attacks in Borno and Yobe states, primarily around Damaturu, killed at least 67 people, leaving a new police headquarters in ruins, and government offices burned. A Boko Haram spokesman told The Daily Trust newspaper that it was responsible for the attacks and promised more.[47][48]

See also

References

  1. ^ allafrica.com
  2. ^ a b The Abuja Bomber | The News Nigeria
  3. ^ "Nigeria policemen in court trial for Boko Haram killing". BBC News. 2011-07-13.
  4. ^ a b c d "Dozens killed in Nigeria clashes". AlJazeera. 2011-12-24. Retrieved 2011-12-24.
  5. ^ allAfrica.com: Nigeria: We Are Responsible for Borno Killings, Says Boko Haram
  6. ^ Boko Haram is battle for 2015, says Chukwumerije By Ogbonnaya Obinna . The Nation . 29/09/2011
  7. ^ "Terrorism in Nigeria: A dangerous new level". The Economist. 2011-09-03. Retrieved 2011-09-07.
  8. ^ a b c d Chothia, Farouk (2011-08-26). "Who are Nigeria's Boko Haram Islamists?". BBC News. Retrieved 2011-09-01.
  9. ^ a b "Nigeria's 'Taliban' enigma". BBC News. 2009-07-28. Retrieved 2009-07-28.
  10. ^ maguzawa.dyndns.ws (Hausa-English dictionary)
  11. ^ *Coulmas, Florian (1999). The Blackwell encyclopedia of writing systems. Wiley-Blackwell. p. 196. ISBN 063121481X. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  12. ^ Austin, Peter K. One Thousand Languages: Living, Endangered, and Lost. University of California Press. p. 64. ISBN 0520255607. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  13. ^ "Dozens killed in Nigeria clashes". London, England: BBC. 2009-07-26. Retrieved 2010-01-02. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  14. ^ Boko Haram: The Emerging Jihadist Threat in West Africa - Introduction, Anti-Defamation League, December 12, 2011.
  15. ^ Boko Haram: The Emerging Jihadist Threat in West Africa - Ideology, Anti-Defamation League, December 12, 2011.
  16. ^ a b Johnson, Toni (2011-08-31). "Backgrounder: Boko Haram". Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 2011-09-01.
  17. ^ AFP - Nigerian forces shell sect leader's home, mosque[dead link]
  18. ^ Deadly Nigeria clashes spread, Al Jazeera, 2009-07-27
  19. ^ Religious Riots Spread to Kano, Yobe, Borno[dead link], This Day, 2009-07-28
  20. ^ Captives freed in Nigerian city, BBC, 2009-07-29
  21. ^ "Nigerian Islamist attacks spread". BBC. 2009-07-27. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  22. ^ "Over 100 dead in Nigerian clashes". RTÉ. 2009-07-27. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  23. ^ a b "Nigeria accused of ignoring sect warnings before wave of killings". London: The Guardian. 2009-08-02. Retrieved 2009-08-06.
  24. ^ Nigeria killings caught on video - Africa - Al Jazeera English
  25. ^ Scores Die as Fighters Battle Nigerian Police By ADAM NOSSITER July 27, 2009, accessed 31-July-2009
  26. ^ Al-Jazeera: Nigeria to hold inquiry into unrest. Retrieved 2009-08-04
  27. ^ Boko Haram strikes again in Borno, kills 4
  28. ^ Sani, Sani Muh'd. "Attack On Bauchi Prison - Boko Haram Frees 721 Inmates." allAfrica.com. 8 September 2010. Retrieved on 31 May 2011.
  29. ^ Many dead in Nigeria market blast - Africa - Al Jazeera English
  30. ^ "Nigerian police: Gubernatorial candidate assassinated". CNN. 2011-01-28.
  31. ^ "Six killed in Nigerian political massacre". The Daily Telegraph. London. 2011-01-28.
  32. ^ Boko Haram gives conditions to stop killings
  33. ^ http://www.stratfor.com/../20110509-nigeria-boko-haram-rejects-amnesty-offer
  34. ^ Boko Haram and Nigeria’s Elections | Sahel Blog
  35. ^ More bombs follow Nigeria inauguration UPI, May 30, 2011.
  36. ^ Brock, Joe (2011-06-17). "Nigerian Islamist sect claims bomb attack: paper". Reuters. Retrieved 2011-06-17.
  37. ^ UPDATE 1-Bombs kill 25 at Nigerian drinking spot - sources, Reuters 26-06-2011
  38. ^ Two girls killed in fresh Nigeria blast, AFP 28-06-2011
  39. ^ 20 killed in blast, shootings in northern Nigeria[dead link], AFP 04-07-2011
  40. ^ News
  41. ^ University Of Maiduguri Shut Down As Boko Haram-Linked Killings Increase | Sahara Reporters
  42. ^ [1][dead link]
  43. ^ BBC (26 August 2011). "Abuja attack: Car bomb hits Nigeria UN building". BBC News. Retrieved 26 August 2011.
  44. ^ Aljazeera (17 September 2011). "Suspects charged in Nigeria bombing". Aljazeera. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
  45. ^ "Nigerian lawmaker shot dead, police suspect sect". Reuters. Thomson Reuters. 2011-10-17. Retrieved 2011-10-17.
  46. ^ "Nigerian sect says killed journalist for spying". Reuters. 2011-10-25. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  47. ^ "Nigeria Boko Haram attack 'kills 63' in Damaturu". BBC News. 2011-11-05. Retrieved 2011-11-05.
  48. ^ "Nigeria: Boko Haram Suicide Attack Killed Dozens". The Huffington Post. 2011-11-05. Retrieved 2011-12-25.
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