fundamentalist
Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that is characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguishi ...
Islamic fundamentalism
Islamic fundamentalism has been defined as a puritanical, revivalist, and reform movement of Muslims who aim to return to the founding scriptures of Islam. Islamic fundamentalists are of the view that Muslim-majority countries should return ...
), potentially including the promotion of violence to achieve political goals (see
Jihadism
Jihadism is a neologism which is used in reference to "militant Islamic movements that are perceived as existentially threatening to the West" and "rooted in political Islam."Compare: Appearing earlier in the Pakistani and Indian media, Wes ...
). In contemporary times, Islamic extremism in Northern Nigeria is typified by the Boko Haram
insurgency
An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion against authority waged by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare from primarily rural base areas. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric nature: small irr ...
and the
proselytizing
Proselytism () is the policy of attempting to convert people's religious or political beliefs. Proselytism is illegal in some countries.
Some draw distinctions between ''evangelism'' or '' Da‘wah'' and proselytism regarding proselytism as invol ...
campaigns of
salafist
The Salafi movement or Salafism () is a reform branch movement within Sunni Islam that originated during the nineteenth century. The name refers to advocacy of a return to the traditions of the "pious predecessors" (), the first three generati ...
groups such as the
Izala Society
Izala Society or ''Jama'atu Izalatil Bid’ah Wa Iqamatus Sunnah'' (Society of Removal of Innovation and Re-establishment of the Sunnah), also called JIBWIS, is a Salafi movement originally established in Northern Nigeria to fight what it sees a ...
.
History
The first recorded extremism in what is now Northern Nigeria was waged in the 14th century by the then Sultan of Kano Ali Yaji, it culminated in the
Battle of Santolo
The Battle of Santolo was a decisive battle between the newly declared Kano Sultanate and the Animist Hausa Kingdom of Santolo, it was the first recorded Islamic Jihad waged and fought in Sudanic Africa.
Background
In the 14th century, Islamic i ...
and the subsequent transformation of the Habe-Hausa Kingdoms of Northern Nigeria into Islamic Sultanates. In the 19th Century, the Fula people led by
Usman dan Fodio
Usman Ɗan Fodio ( ar, عثمان بن فودي, translit=ʿUthmān ibn Fodio; 15 December 1754 – 20 April 1817) was a Fulani scholar, Sunni Islamic religious teacher, revolutionary, and philosopher who founded the Sokoto Caliphate and ruled ...
overthrew many of these Sultanates in another Jihad campaign and replaced them with the more puritanical Sokoto Caliphate. The slow rise of Islamic mysticism in the form of Sufi Brotherhoods under the
Caliphate
A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
reversed some of the more puritanical tendencies of the early caliphate.
After the pacification of Northern Nigeria by the British, they preserved most of the native institutions of the Sokoto Caliphate including its Emirates which were aligned with the Sufi Orders. In the 1960s, the former Grand Qadi of Northern Nigeria, Abubakar Gumi and Sheikh Ismaila Idris with support of wahabbist organisations from
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
established the ''Jamatul Izalatul Bidia Wa Ikhamatul Sunnah''.
Infused with further religious zeal from Gumi, offshoots of Izalatul Bidi'a Wa Ikamatul Sunnah like Boko Haram and
Ansaru
The Vanguard for the Protection of Muslims in Black Africa ( ar, جماعة أنصار المسلمين في بلاد السودان '), better known as Ansaru and less commonly called al-Qaeda in the Lands Beyond the Sahel, is an Islamic fundam ...
developed.
Izala
Izala was the first Islamist organization in modern times to openly advocate for a militant transformation of Northern Nigerian institutions in line with fundamentalist interpretations of Islam. Officially founded in 1978 with funding from Saudi Arabia, it is split between the more Militant Ikhwanist-Qutbist view and the more political Maududist view. The Ikhwanists find inspiration from the teachings of the early Wahabist Ikhwan Movement and
Sayyid Qutb
Sayyid 'Ibrāhīm Ḥusayn Quṭb ( or ; , ; ar, سيد قطب إبراهيم حسين ''Sayyid Quṭb''; 9 October 1906 – 29 August 1966), known popularly as Sayyid Qutb ( ar, سيد قطب), was an Egyptian author, educator, Islamic ...
, who justified the violent overthrow of systems deemed un-Islamic. In 2001, a faction of the Ikhwanist broke away to form Boko Haram.
The Maududist faction found inspiration from the teachings of the movements founder Abubakar Gumi and
Abul A'la Maududi
Abul A'la al-Maududi ( ur, , translit=Abū al-Aʿlā al-Mawdūdī; – ) was an Islamic scholar, Islamist ideologue, Muslim philosopher, jurist, historian, journalist, activist and scholar active in British India and later, following the part ...
, and advocated for a 'smart' political jihad that they believe will mitigate any loss of life on their part.
Boko Haram
Jihadist group Boko Haram began their insurgency with an uprising in 2009. They have carried out many attacks since then, killing thousands of people. In the mid-2010s, their insurgency expanded into
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...