origin of boko haram in nigeria

origin of boko haram in nigeria. Boko Haram (pronounced, "Western education is sinful") is an Islamic jihadist and takfiri militant and terrorist organization based in the northeast of Nigeria, north Cameroon and Niger. Founded by Mohammed Yusuf in 2002, the organisation seeks to establish a "pure" Islamic state ruled by sharia law,putting a stop to what it deems "Westernization." The group is known for attacking Christians and government targets, bombing churches, attacking schools and police stations, kidnapping western tourists, but has also assassinated members of the Islamic establishment.Violence linked to the Boko Haram insurgency has resulted in an estimated 10,000 deaths between 2002 and 2013.

The group exerts influence in the northeastern Nigerian states of Borno, Adamawa, Kaduna, Bauchi, Yobe and Kano. In this region, a state of emergency has been declared. The group does not have a clear structure or evident chain of command and has been called "diffuse" with a "cell-like structure" facilitating factions and splits. It is reportedly divided into three factions with a splinter group known as Ansaru. The group's main leader is Abubakar Shekau. Its weapons expert, second-in-command and arms manufacturer was Momodu Bama.

Whether it has links to jihadist groups outside Nigeria is disputed. According to one US military commander, Boko Haram is likely linked to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), but others have found no evidence of material international support, and attacks by the group on international targets have so far been limited. On November 13, 2013 the United States government designated the group as a terrorist organisation.

Many of the group's senior radicals were reportedly partially inspired by the late Islamic preacher known as Maitatsine. Others believe the group is motivated by inter-ethnic disputes as much as religion, and that its founder Yusuf believed there was a campaign of “ethnic cleansing” by Plateau State governor Jonah Jang against the Hausa and Fulani people. Amnesty International has accused the Nigerian government of human rights abuses after 950 suspected Boko Haram militants died in detention facilities run by Nigeria's military Joint Task Force in the first half of 2013. The conflicts have left around 90,000 people displaced. Human Rights Watch claims that Boko Haram uses child soldiers, including 12 year olds.

The group has adopted its official name to be "the Congregation of the People of Tradition for Proselytism and Jihad", which is the English translation from Arabic Jama'at ahl as-sunnah li-d-da'wa wa-l-jihad .

In the town of Maiduguri, where the group was formed, the residents dubbed it Boko Haram. The term "Boko Haram" comes from the Hausa word boko figuratively meaning "western education" (literally "alphabet", from English "book") and the Arabic word haram figuratively meaning "sin" (literally, "forbidden"). The name, loosely translated from Hausa, means "western education is forbidden". The group earned this name by its strong opposition to anything Western, which it sees as corrupting Muslims. However, this interpretation of the name is disputed, and locals who speak the Hausa language are unsure what it means.

Another source said Boko Haram was founded as an indigenous group, turning itself into a Jihadist group in 2009. It proposes that interaction with the Western world is forbidden, and also supports opposition to the Muslim establishment and the government of Nigeria.

The members of the group do not interact with the local Muslim population and have carried out assassinations in the past of anyone who criticises it, including Muslim clerics.

In a 2009 BBC interview, Mohammed Yusuf, then leader of the group, stated his belief that the fact of a spherical Earth is contrary to Islamic teaching and should be rejected, along with Darwinian evolution and the fact of rain originating from water evaporated by the sun. Before his death, Yusuf reiterated the group's objective of changing the current education system and rejecting democracy. Nigerian academic Hussain Zakaria told BBC News that the controversial cleric had a graduate education, spoke proficient English, lived a lavish lifestyle and drove a Mercedes-Benz.

In the wake of the 2009 crackdown on its members and its subsequent reemergence, the growing frequency and geographical range of attacks attributed to Boko Haram have led some political and religious leaders in the north to the conclusion that the group has now expanded beyond its original religious composition to include not only Islamic militants, but criminal elements and disgruntled politicians as well. For instance Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima said of Boko Haram: “[they have] become a franchise that anyone can buy into. It's something like a Bermuda Triangle. The group has also forcibly converted non-Muslims to Islam.

Dr Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, the Niger State governor, has criticized the group, saying, "Islam is known to be a religion of peace and does not accept violence and crime in any form" and Boko Haram doesn't represent Islam.

The Sultan of Sokoto Sa'adu Abubakar, the spiritual leader of Nigerian Muslims, has called the sect "anti-Islamic" and, as reported by the website AllAfrica.com, "an embarrassment to Islam."

The Coalition of Muslim Clerics in Nigeria (CMCN) have called on the Boko Haram to disarm and embrace peace.

The Islamic Circle of North America, the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada, the Muslim Council of Britain, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Council on American Islamic Relations have all condemned the group.

Funding sources for Boka Haram are not certain. In the past, Nigerian officials have been criticised for being unable to trace much of the funding that Boko Haram has received.

It is believed to be partially funded by bank robberies.

It is also believed to be funded by other Islamist groups. In February 2012, recently arrested officials revealed that "while the organisation initially relied on donations from members, its links with Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, AQIM, opened it up to more funding from groups in Saudi Arabia and the UK". They went on to say that other sources of funding included the Al Muntada Trust Fund and the Islamic World Society.

The group also extorts local governments for so-called "protection money". A spokesman of Boko Haram claimed that Kano state governor Ibrahim Shekarau and Bauchi state governor Isa Yuguda had paid them monthly.

Since Boko Haram is recognised by the U.S. Department of State as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, it is restricted from receiving funds from the U.S. or U.S. nationals.

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