Who Is Boko Haram? Or What Is Boko Haram?

Boko HaramBoko Haram is actually the Congregation of the People of Tradition for Proselytism and Jihad and is known by the name of Boko Haram. It is an assembly and confrontational organization based in the northeast of Nigeria established by Mohammed Yusuf in 2002 as the union pursues to establish a “pure” Islamic state ruled by sharia.

Nigerian-based terrorist group Boko Haram is known for target Muslims, Christians and government including bombing churches, mosques, schools and police stations. They have kidnapped western tourists and killed many members of the Islamic foundations. Boko Haram has caused almost 10,000 deaths between 2002 and 2013. The group has effected in the northeastern Nigerian states of Borno, Adamawa, Kaduna, Bauchi, Yobe and Kano. Boko Haram’s main leader is Abubakar Shekau and its weapons expert and arms maker was Momodu Bama. Possibly Boko Haram is linked with Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

The troop was formed in the town of Maiduguri, as the word “Boko Haram” comes from the Hausa word boko. Boko Haram turned themselves into a Jihadist group in 2009 as the members of the group do not interrelate with the Muslim residents. The group ideologies and systems were condemned by many Nigerian Muslim authorities and believed that Boko Haram does not represent Islam as Islam does not accept any crime and violence. Muslim Authorities claimed that Boko Haram endorses a version of Islam which makes it “haram”, or forbidden for Muslims to take part in any political or social activity associated with Western society.

Boko Haram has attacked many schools in northern Nigeria, as Boko Haram is against Western education, which it believes harms the moral values of Muslims, especially girls, by attacking two boarding schools – in Yobe in March and in Chibok in April.

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