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Sharia

4 Koran Verses That Explain Boko Haram

Far from a simple insurrection, Boko Haram's very purpose is to establish a caliphate under their reading of sharia law.

BY Bruce Cornibe · | July 8, 2016

Boko Haram does not typically generate the media frenzy like ISIS and other groups seem to do. This is likely because Boko Haram has more of a national and somewhat of a regional focus, in and around Nigeria. For instance, we are not seeing Boko Haram fighters conducting massive attacks in Europe, North America and throughout the world as we are seeing with ISIS militants. Thus, Boko Haram does not pose an immediate threat to Western governments.

Nevertheless the group gained international notoriety in April 2014 with the kidnapping of over two hundred and seventy Chibok schoolgirls. One of the responses to the incident was the startup of a #BringBackOurGirls movement which famous people such as First Lady Michelle Obama participated in to raise awareness for the victims. Even though Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has promised to rescue the Chibok girls and defeat Boko Haram, one doubts that his efforts such as calling upon the surrounding West African states to bolster the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) will stop the Islamic radicals. Below are some figures reported by NBC News that reveal Boko Haram’s level of carnage:

Nigeria’s militant group — which has pledged allegiance to ISIS — has been tied to nearly 11,000 killings in 2015 as of mid-December, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.

More than half of the deaths — around 6,500 — have been the direct result of Boko Haram’s suicide bombings and armed raids. The rest died as a result of fighting between the militants and Nigerian troops, according to CFR’s data.

A report by the Daily Post published June 30, details a horrific episode of Boko Haram’s campaign of terror:

About 3,000 families were said to have fled Ashigashiya, Ngoshe and Gava villages around Gwoza local government area of Borno, northeast Nigeria when Nigerian military on clearance operation fought Boko Haram militants on Tuesday to liberate the areas.

Arriving Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, Nuhu Diya, who was among the over 10,000 people held hostage at ‘Bayan Dutse’ told DAILY POST that he witnessed the killing of 466 people who refused to convert to Islam as well as over 218 marriages of innocent victims to Boko Haram fighters who forcefully took them as wives.

He also said that more than 192 died as a result of hunger-related sickness, adding that there are thousands of people still trapped in the ‘Bayan Dutse’ axis and are in need of serious help.

Boko Haram conducts attacks against Nigerian authorities, but to label them as a mere insurrectionist group dismisses their overall goals. Some analysts think the group is a product of systemic government corruption and economic scarcity among others. However, from the group’s inception in 2002 with founder Mohammed Yusuf, it is clear sharia law is the major driving force behind the group.  Yusuf believed “Western education [Boko] is a sin [Haram]; hence the name Boko Haram.”  Former Boko Haram spokesman Abul Qaqa affirmed that the group’s goal is the implementation of sharia in a past interview revealed by Reporters Without Borders:  “application of sharia law throughout Nigeria … [t]hrough kidnappings, bombings and suicide attacks aimed at the United Nations, churches and symbols of the federal government such as police stations.”  This is a major reason why the group targets Christians (infidels), women, other Muslims, and teachers, in addition to government forces.

When Boko Haram murders ‘infidels’ such as Christians, they believe they are acting out Koranic verses such as these:

[Remember] when your Lord inspired to the angels, “I am with you, so strengthen those who have believed. I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieved, so strike [them] upon the necks and strike from them every fingertip.” –Quran 8:12

“…for those who disbelieved, I will punish them with a severe punishment in this world and the Hereafter…” –Quran 3:56

Likewise, when they enslave girls and coerce them into marriage:

And [also prohibited to you are all] married women except those your right hands possess. [This is] the decree of Allah upon you. And lawful to you are [all others] beyond these, [provided] that you seek them [in marriage] with [gifts from] your property… –Quran 4:24

So consume what you have taken of war booty [as being] lawful and good, and fear Allah. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful. –Quran 8:69

This Islamic militant force is a large reason why the violent murdering of Christians in northern Nigeria has risen by 62% in a year, according to Open Doors.  Of course Boko Haram is not the sole cause of Christian persecution.  Others guilty of this persecution include Muslim Fulani herdsmen and different Muslim groups and individuals that control the levers of power in northern Nigeria.

As we have seen, Boko Haram is more than just a group involved in an insurrectionist struggle.  It’s main purpose is to establish their own Caliphate based on sharia law.

Despite taking on various forms, Sharia is a totalitarian ideology that not only jihadist groups espouse, but also ‘moderate’ Islamist groups like the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.  Therefore, getting rid of just Boko Haram or any other terrorist group will not solve the underlining source of persecution for women and religious minorities in Nigeria and around the Islamic world, which is sharia law.  Countries like Nigeria where individuals are being slaughtered in mass numbers for their faith and gender need immediate assistance in combatting jihad.  They also need help resisting the ideological doctrine of sharia.

 

Image of Boko Haram’s standard is by ArnoldPlatonOwn work, based on screenshots from here, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32765968

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