Abstract
Boko Haram, in spite of the tendency to now simply dismiss it as a terrorist group, unquestionably took off from a desire for a new form of Islamic practice in Nigeria and thus embodied what can be seen as ‘innovative’ attempt at fundamentalist Islamic proselytization. The group has undoubted fundamentalist credentials and sought the establishment of a new religio-political organization as most millennial groups. While there is no doubting the fact that Boko Haram’s roots lie in Sunni Islam which is widespread in Nigeria, it adopted a very strict Salafist interpretation of this version of Islam that is both unique and separate from that embraced by the broader ‘ummah’. Since 2013, it has veered off making war on the government and its agents and has become more or less a violent group with intent on spreading fear and panic in the general public. A distinguishing feature of the insurgence is that it has killed more Muslims than any other Islamic fundamentalist uprising in the last four decades in Nigeria.
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Notes
- 1.
Personal interview with Ahmed (18 July 2016—Maiduguri, Nigeria).
- 2.
Personal interview, Abubakar Mallam (Gwoza, 18 April 2016).
- 3.
Personal interview with a 43-year-old Boko Haram sympathizer, Muhammad Lawal (Maiduguri, 10 August 2016).
- 4.
FGD session with adult males in Gwoza (2 May 2016).
- 5.
Hajia Mairo, 55-year-old women leader in Gwoza (20 April 2016).
- 6.
Personal interview, Hauwa Shettima, mother of six children [now five] (25 April 2016).
- 7.
Personal Interview with Hajia Fatima in Maiduguri (28 July 2016).
- 8.
Personal interview with 28-year-old CJTF member (Gwoza, 5 May 2016).
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Anugwom, E.E. (2019). Between Terrorism and Innovative Proselytization. In: The Boko Haram Insurgence In Nigeria. New Directions in Islam. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96959-6_8
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