Bano haram biography of william

The jihadist group Boko Haram has long been described as a Nigerian movement. Yet, today its main faction—Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP)—fields fighters in five countries outside Nigeria--Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Mali. 

Is this aberrational or the natural evolution of a group whose history is rooted in West African jihadist networks?

When researching for my book, Unmasking Boko Haram: Exploring Global Jihad in Nigeria, I uncovered sources tracing Nigerian jihadism’s origins to Algerian jihadists’ arrival in Nigeria in This demonstrated  pan-West African scope represents continuity with ISWAP’s founding.

Boko Haram’s Origins

In , after the western liberal-capitalist “victory” in the Cold War, Algeria was among the first African countries to hold democratic elections, which its military rulers believed would legitimate their rule.

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