Making of Boko Haram

omeni is the principal consultant at Terrorism Studies Consultancy and a visiting professor at Boston University. He has taught at the War Studies Department, King’s College London, at the University of Leicester, and at the University of St Andrews, UK, where he was Senior Lecturer. He is the author of Policing and Politics in Nigeria (2022), Insurgency and War in Nigeria (2019), Counter-Insurgency in Nigeria (2017) and Picking Sides: Race, Ethnicity and Recruitment in the Colonial Nigerian Army (forthcoming).

The Making of Boko Haram is more than yet another book about an insurgent group. It is a study of how violence is socially produced, historically embedded and politically rationalised. Indeed, a masterpiece and a must read. This book is recommended for anyone seeking to understand not just Boko Haram, but the broader dynamics of insurgency and religious mobilisation in Africa.

• PrefaceIntroductionPart I: Setting the StageChapter 2 - 'Boko Haram': What’s in a Name?Chapter 3 – Setting a Violent Precedent: The Uthman dan Fodiyo Jihad and Its ImplicationsPart II: An Explanation of Boko Haram’s DevianceChapter 4 - Social Movement Theory (SMT), Islamic Activism and Boko Haram Chapter 5 – Deviant Interpretation: How Boko Haram Frames Its Discourse Part III: Religion and Politics in Northern Nigeria – Influences on Boko Haram’s CreedChapter 6 – The Long Road to Boko Haram’s ‘Awakening’Chapter 7 - The Importance of Theological Debate and Tafsir (Qur’anic Exegesis)Part IV: A Historical GrudgeChapter 8 – Islam and shari‘a (Islamic law) in Northern Nigeria During Colonial Rule Chapter 9 - Religious Tensions and the Politicisation of Islam in Northern Nigeria Since the Late Colonial EraChapter 10 - Islamic Fundamentalism in 1980s Northern Nigeria: From Puritanism to MaitatsinePart V: Formative YearsChapter 11 - 1980s – 1990s: Radical Influences on Yusuf and the Emergence of ‘Boko Haram’Chapter 12 - 1999 – 2000: Nigeria’s Shift to Democracy and the Shari‘a Debate Chapter 13 - 2001 – 2003: A ‘Separation of Ties’Part VI: Resurgence to IsolationChapter 14 - Boko Haram’s Post-Kanamma Resurgence and Decline: Individual InfluencesChapter 15 - Public Disagreements, Attempts at Correction, and Isolation Part ViI: Prelude to Jihad (Armed Struggle)Chapter 18 - ‘Fire For Fire’: Violence, Death, and Boko Haram’s RebirthConclusion: Out of the Frying PanBibliographyIndex