Book Review of Boko Haram by Alexander Thurston

 Research work on Nigeria’s Islamic Movement

Book Review of Boko Haram by Alexander Thurston

 

333 pages

 

Yusuf a Muslim preacher in Maiduguri  Nigeria was deeply aware of the realities of Islam . He noticed that  the Nigerian elites claimed to be Muslim but there was a big gap between faith and practice. Mosques attracted crowds yet the great majority of people not only remained poor but effective social changes were not even tried.

 

Yusuf had been to haj and Umra several times and knew what was the real message of Islam. He started questioning those who claimed to be Muslims. He was a powerful speaker and through  copies of his speeches new faith arose in the souls of the masses. His message  was that those who claim to be Muslims should behave like Muslims otherwise they are not real Muslims. Western education is haram. Hence the title Boko Haram.

 

Yusuf taught that Nigerians were absorbing secular ideas and were giving their faith in Islam a secondary place in their minds. He wrote: ‘Many of the people of the Book wish to turn you back to unbelief after you have believed [Quran 2 109]. There is nothing that can allow you to get along  with the infidel and the hypocrite  become unless you become exactly like them.’

 

The Nigerian government had a large and powerful army . Crowds excited about Islam could  not realize that they were no  match  for a modern army. Still Yusuf and his supporters drove the government out of the northeastern city of Maiduguri, and from that  their support grew into other areas.

 

Finally the regime cornered Yusuf. There was no rule of law. Yusuf and his companions were shot dead though they were unarmed and his body was thrown out in the street.

 

Abubakar Shekau , close companion of Yusuf , retaliated against the Nigeran army. After that it was open war. Some areas of northern Nigeria were captured by Islamic volunteer forces taking revenge for Yusuf.

The army suffered serious losses. The jihad forces went all the way south to the capital Abuja.

 

Pro American forces from Cameroon Chad and Niger came to help the Nigerian army. In response Abubakar hooked up forces to al Qaida and ISIS.

 

The fighting continues and Abubakar is raiding pro western forces in Cameroon and Chad and around the lake.

 

Yusufs main point was that western ideas are against Islam . westerners can come up with opinions which have no sacred basis. Quran and hadith should be central for Muslims.

 

The cartoons against Islam coming out of France were condemned by Abu bakar  and those who

remembered  the messages of YUSUF  SHAHEED.