Boko Haram, a Salafi-Jihadist group based in the Northeast of Nigeria, has waged a seemingly insurmountable insurgency since the mid-2000s to overthrow the secular government of Nigeria and impose Sharia law throughout the country. Drawing direct ideological inspiration from Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), their terrorist campaign is responsible for thousands of deaths and innumerable casualties since renewing in 2009. While terrorism and violent extremism are nothing new in Northwest Africa, the continued existence of Boko Haram offers some valuable lessons for counter-terrorism operations. Boko Haram illustrates the importance of understanding a group's philosophy and the difficulty of fighting an ideology without developing a counter-narrative.
Known locally as Jama’atul Ahlul Sunna wa Liddawati wal Jihad, as a Salafi-Jihadist group Boko Haram believes that “non-believers” should not rule Muslims and seeks to impose Sharia law on the entire country. Therefore, in addition to the sheer number and volatility of terrorist incidents, Boko Haram’s attacks have been brutal and often directly target civilians — Muslim and Christian alike. As a Salafi-Jihadist group Boko Haram’s ethical framework traces back to the preaching of the first four caliphates and a fundamentalist reading of the Qur’an. As fundamentalists they take the words from these seventh century caliphates and the Qur’an literally, believing that no man-made law should rise above God’s law and that Muslims have a duty to rebel against governments that attempt to implement man-made law.
This adherence to the fundamentals underpins Boko Haram’s activities and separates them from the larger Islamic community and differentiates them from other forms of Sunni Islam that participate in the political process by establishing Islamic republics. In addition to the first four caliphates and the fundamentalist reading of the Qur’an, the recent Western-led wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya have offered practical opportunities for honing these ethical models. Taken together, the ideological and practical aspects of Salafi-Jihadism have combined into a strategic outlook that Boko Haram uses to justify violence against Muslims, Christians, and any other group they deem as apostates. Furthermore, the fervor and consistency with which they pursue these goals has impacted the ethical framework of those that seek to counter their violent ideology and stymied efforts to eradicate the group.
We don’t negotiate with Secularists
The secular strains that are associated with the majority of religions throughout the world are noticeably absent from Islam. Boko Haram take this anti-secularism one step further, contending that the secular state causes corruption and inequality, which only Sharia Law can overcome. This is why these groups are not merely against the Christian facets of these secular states, but also the proponents of Sufi Islam, the most widely practiced form of Islam in West Africa. Boko Haram’s strategy is not oblique; numerous videos and statements detail their objective of an Islamic State in Nigeria governed by Sharia law. In keeping with this goal, they have never attempted to negotiate any resolution with the government in Abuja.
The history of Salafi-Jihadists is grounded in the fight against foreign, secular, and non-Muslim occupiers. This struggle was well suited to transfer to Nigeria, where the government draws its design and empowerment from secular colonial systems. Furthermore, in an effort to control populations, these successive governments exploited fissures in ethnicity and religion to divide people and keep the indigenous populations weakened. These weak and ineffectual governments provide ample room for Salafi-Jihadist ideology to flourish and radicalize locally disenfranchised populations, providing Boko Haram with a seemingly inexhaustible pool of potential recruits and supporters. It is within this complex environment that Boko Haram’s ethical framework evolves and operates.
Understanding Jihadi-Salafism: the five pillars
To understand exactly what Jihadi-Salafism means, it is crucial to understand the terminology. The Salafi strain of Islam has some specific ideological aspects that separate it from other traditions within Sunni Islam and explain the distinct ethical basis of Salafi-Jihadist organizations. While all Salafists seek the establishment of a theocratic state based on Islamic law, there are notable differences in their tactics. These distinctions break Salafists into three distinctive yet overlapping categories: scripturalists, whose tactical approach relies on spiritual outreach, charity, and education; political-Salafists, who promote their goals through participation in the political system; and the Jihadi-Salafists, who wage a violent fight to promote their goals.The term jihad, perhaps one of the more misunderstood terms of our times, literally translates to English as “struggle,” and refers to several different aspects of Muslim though that ranges from the physical all they way to the spiritual. Together these terms — Salafi and Jihad — combine to describe the specific faction within the Salafi community that has recently dominated much of the international conversation about terrorism. Although Salafi-Jihadists are united to the larger Salafi community through their common religious beliefs, they are ideologically distinct from other factions within the community by a strictly fundamentalist reading of the Qur’an. In addition to the ethical impacts, these ideological distinctions often put them at odds with the larger Islamic community who disavow the violence associated with these groups.
The lineage of Boko Haram’s jihadist ideology traces back to the post-WWII timeframe and the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt that preached how western imperialism had caused a decline in Islam and that the restoration of the caliphate was necessary to correct the situation. The second major ideological influence comes from Salafism, a theological movement within Sunni Islam that is primarily concerned with purifying Islam by eradicating idolatry (shirk) and affirming monotheism (tawhid).
The ideological roots of Salafism reach much further back than the jihadist ideology and center on five pillars. The first pillar of tawhid concerns the need for monotheism, while the second pillar hakimiyat Allah, or God’s sovereignty, means that people are incapable of determining right and wrong through human reasoning and must rely on God to do so. Bida, the third pillar, concerns a rejection of innovations to Islam and propose a fundamentalist jurisprudence, arising from the notion that the Quran, as the revelation from God is complete and requires no alterations. The fourth pillar, takfir, allows a Muslims to declare another Muslim as outside the faith, something Jihadi Salafists do to Muslims they perceive as having committed a transgression against Islam. This point is particularly relevant when understanding the contemporary movements in the Sahel because they provide a basis for de-legitimizing secular Muslim governments. Boko Haram’s current leader, Abubakar Shekau, specifically preached takfiri — excommunication — in an undated 2012 YouTube video argued that, “any Muslim who pledged allegiance to the Nigerian flag instead of Islamic symbols or associated with Christians was an infidel.” The last pillar is the notion that jihad is an obligation that all Muslims have to rebel against governments that are not ruling according to God’s law.
The difficulty in challenging the system
These five pillars provide the key to understanding the ethical tradition of Boko Haram and like-minded Salafi-Jihadist groups. Moreover, they explain the anti-Shi’ite elements found in Jihadi-Salafism as well the reasons for the persecution of fellow Muslims that participate in a democratic system. They provide the ideological foundation for the ethical framework that Boko Haram uses to justify their brutal tactics and explains why Jihadi-Salafism differs from other forms of political Islam. Understandably, Jihadi-Salafists maintain a complex and oftentimes adversarial relationship with the larger Islamic community as well as the national governments and international organizations that operate in the region. A similarly complex relationship exists between Boko Haram and the larger Islamic community in Nigeria. Concepts like bida, takfir, and jihad that all allow for intra-Muslim condemnation certainly provides Islamic leaders with reason enough to denounce these groups. Likewise, the violent tactics employed by Boko Haram undoubtedly troubles the average Muslim faithful in Nigeria.
In addition to this confrontation with the Islamic community, the perceived struggle against anything Western has put the group at odds with seemingly innocuous organizations and illustrates that the kidnapping of foreign aid workers is not merely a crime of opportunity, but a belief in the innate corruptness of any form of secular rule. While Boko Haram leverages the lack of formal education and the poverty endemic to Nigeria to fuel religious clashes with the government of Nigeria, they also appear to believe in their cause as evidence by their continued campaign of terror against the government despite a recent leadership change and increasing economic opportunities.
Despite the overwhelming violence perpetrated by Boko Haram over the past six years, many Muslims remain conflicted and remain reluctant to disavow other Muslims. To fully comprehend the complex dynamics behind this reluctance, it is necessary to characterize the insurgency as an existential problem, not merely a political or social problem. Salafi Jihadists draw from the same religious sources as other Muslims and Boko Haram adeptly exploits and employs religious rhetoric and symbols to advance their cause. According to Assaf Moghadam, a Senior Research Fellow at the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, this is the “reason that ordinary Muslims — not to speak of non-Muslims — find it particularly difficult and dangerous to challenge Salafi-jihadists without running the risk of being accused of targeting Islam as a whole.” This also explains how the crimes imputed to Boko Haram do not garner the level of local condemnation one would expect; however, this silence does not equate to affirmation by the larger Islamic community.
In addition to the complex ethical dynamic of Boko Haram’s relationship with the larger Islamic community, there are also the actions of the Nigerian government and western organizations that possess an ethical dimension that Boko Haram exploits. The government of Nigeria’s heavy-handed tactics against Boko Haram has caused numerous deaths in their own right. Likewise, western governments and organizations that seemingly work with the corrupt Nigerian government provide ample justification for Boko Haram to wage their struggle against these entities. While the validity of these claims remains disputed throughout the international community and within Nigeria, the claims conveniently fit into Boko Haram’s narrative and any challenge by the resource starved local populace remains highly unlikely.
The Importance of developing a counter-narrative
Boko Haram’s continued campaign against successive governments in Nigeria, their targeting of the United Nations building and Western tourists, and their spectacularly violent attacks against Nigerian citizens of all ages and creeds all present a picture of an organization with little concern for the traditional notion of an ethical framework. However, the ideological influence of Salafist thought that dates back to the seventh century caliphates and the modernized ideology of the Jihadist vision that traces back to the mid-nineteenth century have combined to provide an ethical backdrop for Boko Haram. While some critics view the organization as little more than an opportunistic group of disenfranchised citizenry, the zeal with which they pursue their cause suggests otherwise. Their ethics have been consistent throughout their existence and offer some explanation to the continued rise of violence over the past few years.
With each successive attempt by the Nigerian government to eradicate Boko Haram there comes a renewed sense of duty on behalf of their members to counter the illegitimate secular government in Abuja. Understanding this ethical framework is critical for the development of a long-term strategy to counter their terrorism. When considering the influence that the Qur’an and the five pillars have had on Boko Haram’s ideological growth, it appears that the development of a counter-narrative will be a critical component of any successful strategy. Additionally, it becomes apparent that the military-dominated solutions will never realize full success as Boko Haram and their potential recruits believe that these solutions only prove the point that these illegitimate governments need to be replaced by an Islamic caliphate run by Sharia Law.
