BOKO HARAM. ISLAMIC PROTEST AND NATIONAL SECURITY

Boko Haram, Islamic Protest, and National Security highlights one of the most serious problems of the contemporary world order - ideologically and religious motivated violence. Terrorist movements like Boko Haram represent a challenge to an understanding of contemporary Islam, distorted economic and political development, and the injustices of the international world order. The resonance between local conditions and trans-national problems raises serious issues of public policy and national security. These problems are perceived in religious terms that have dangerous consequences in terms of perceptions of Islam that undermine efforts to promote multicultural societies and peaceful interaction globally. Contributors to the volume approach the phenomenon “from below” by relying on primary sources, aiming to exhume the underlying roots of Boko Haram and present recommendations to generate effective policies.

 “Although the genealogy of Boko Haram is traceable to the precolonial and colonial jihad movements, its full-fledged emergence around 2010 underscores the potential prevention that could have been achieved through appropriate leadership actions for the benefit of the masses. The absence of strong leadership that prioritizes social transformation has led to feelings of insecurity, exclusion, and betrayal among the masses, driving them to seek desperate means of survival.”

Prof. Toyin Falola

From the Foreword

This rich collection of essays is an important book with a wide variety of analysis and perspectives on Boko Haram, especially from Cameroun and Nigeria. The volume draws on papers presented at an international conference held in Montreal 2018. It takes on the multiple tasks of exploring various dimensions of the conflict with a rigorous approach that reveals the strength of collaborative endeavors.

 Dr. Marc-Antoine Pérouse de Montclos

Senior Researcher (Ph. d.), Institut de recherche pour le développement, Paris

Editor of Boko Haram: Islamism, Politics, Security, and the State in Nigeria,