Alwaght- Boko Haram is an Islamist rebel and takfiri group in northern Nigeria that demands closure of all of the modern schools and implementation of the Sharia law in all of the 36 states of Nigeria. Founded in 2003, Boko Haram is also active in Niger, Chad, and northern Cameroon. Initially, Boko Haram had bonds with Al-Qaeda terrorist group but in 2015 it pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS terrorist group, and rebranded to Islamic State's West Africa Province. The Sharia law has been implemented in northern Nigeria since 2000, however, the Islamist rebels including the self-proclaimed Taliban as well as Boko Haram in Nigeria are demanding that Islamic law is implemented across the country and not only in northern regions.
Having in mind that Boko Haram has said that its major drives for formation was implementation of the Islamic law and based on this drive it has carried out many terrorist attacks across Nigeria, its view and links to the Muslims and vice versa are of significance.
Boko Haram has a special approach to the anti-government and also some of the Islamic groups in the country. It tries to attract them. Nigeria has been witnessing ongoing religious clashes between different groups– something pushed a number of the young people in Nigeria to accept the ideology of the terrorist group.
Boko Haram defines itself as protector of the Muslims against the Christians. This issue, too, persuaded some of the Muslim simpletons to rush to help Boko Haram and to become its members.
Boko Haram has announced that it was religiously banned to work for a government that it called infidel. According to the terrorist group's beliefs, those who do not follow its strict ideologies are branded infidels, no matter they are Christians or Muslims. Boko Haram uses violence against and tries to destroy the Muslim groups that are not following its religious codes or resisting its demands for allegiance. Many of the northern and northeastern regions of Nigeria are Muslim-inhabited, so, many of the attacks have taken place in these regions, killing many Muslims. As it targets Churches across the country, Boko Haram hits mosques that their imams preach against the terrorist group. It destroys the mosques. This has made many Muslims of the country hate Boko Haram.
Concerning the stances of Boko Haram on the Shiite Muslims of Nigeria, Sheikh Ibrahim Yaqoub El Zakzaky, the leader of Shiites of the country and also head of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, argued that the attacks that were conducted under the name of Boko Haram in the country were in fact part of an accurate and well-designed plan by the "oil-thirsty West" which seeks blocking Islamic progress and impeding expansion of Islam among the Nigerian people. Sheikh El Zakzaky continued that the main aim of the adversaries was to control the activities of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria which is a Shiite group in the country. Taking the trusted reports as his evidences, he talked about fears and concerns of the global powers about the Islamic awakening in Nigeria. He added that what made them worried was that at the end of the road the whole of Niger could become Islamic, and specifically Shiite.
The Shiite leader in Nigeria asserted that an increasing feeling of fear had engulfed the Western countries because they knew that if Nigeria wanted to make Islam the base of work and governing in the country, the African effects could be doubled. This is the major push behind their efforts to destabilize Nigeria under the name of Boko Haram, according to Sheikh El Zakzaky.
Sheikh El Zakzaky cast doubts on Boko Haram's claims that it was trying to make Sharia law implemented in the country. He said that there was nothing called Boko Haram in the country. He said that so far he had not seen anybody identified himself as member of Boko Haram. Sheikh El Zakzaky maintained that the enemies came from abroad and in fact it was them who were behind the blasts in Nigeria. The Shiite cleric wondered how it was possible for a number of people who were always veiled to appear in the public, try to recruit, and finally seek founding an Islamic state in Nigeria while offer no ideological framework and use no communicative and media instruments like newspapers or a website that promotes their beliefs. He called these claims as a kind of bid to joke Islam followed by the "enemies and those with evil motives.
Based on what was said it can be concluded that Boko Haram like other terrorist groups including ISIS and Al-Qaeda takes Islam only as its excuse for its criminal acts. Actually, it holds no passion for Islam or for its implementation. Terrorist measures against Islamic places and figures in Nigeria are firm evidences for this claim.
