Disadvantages Of Boko Haram

“Terrorism's particularly heinous but highly attractive means to achieve political objectives or even radically restructure political foundations is manifest within societies in all reaches of the world. While the practical application of terrorist methodologies comes across as a relatively straightforward craft, the conceptual and ideological understanding, and subsequent evaluation of its socio-political influence, implementation, and psychological impacts present difficult questions, and in some cases conceivably insurmountable obstacles” (Romaniuk 2014, para

The Boko Haram sect in Nigeria has been a huge problem for the country in the past, and the threat is only growing. This group is considered responsible for a handful of government attacks, targets on the United Nations, and often churches who undermine the Islamic religion. Their actions have spawned from the idea that their country is controlled by “fake Muslims”, and aim to create an Islamic nation ruled with Sharia law.

Sudan is a crossroads through which many extremists groups combine or swap men, material and know-how. A coup in 1989 brought to power a group of generals allied to high-minded Islamists of an earlier vintage who, two decades ago, played host to Osama bin Laden. Since then the regime has grown suspicious of unbridled Islamism, though it is not averse to co-opting it, too. The main university in Khartoum, the capital, has been a magnet for radical students. Some have moved on to battlefields to the north and east, following in bin Laden’s footsteps.

Boko Haram are motivated by a Jihadist version of Islam and is believed to be believers of the one true interpretation of the (Brinkel & Ait-Hida, 2012, p. 16). Their ultimate goal to create a true Islamic state in Nigeria directly associated with Sharia law. (Chothia, 2015, p. 5). The group has maintained their secrecy and the authorities have yet to be captured by law enforcement. Boko Haram is seen to have many basic views including their religious motivations, political downfall, and their extreme actions taken on the people of Nigeria. Boko

Although journalist Dexter Filkins has spent years covering the war in Iraq, he still appears unsure as to what exactly motivates a suicide bomber to embrace jihad. Citing a specific example in his book, The Forever War, Filkins poses the question, “The most intriguing part of Ra’ad’s story was unknowable. How did an English-speaking, American-loving, hair-gel-wearing lawyer who’d walked among the bikinis of Santa Monica come to blow himself up in Iraq?” (177). While this particular quandary may appear unknowable to Filkins, the motivation behind suicide bombers’ actions may be more obvious than he thinks. It is no secret that American culture differs immensely from that of the Islamic way of life, as both groups have great difficulty

Nearly all of the extremists have relied on an “intermediary”- like an extremist cleric or a terrorist recruiter- to facilitate and catalyze their radicalization. For instance, Al-awlaki mentored Hasan (Nov 5, 2009); Al-shabaab (Nov 23, 2009) agents appear to have recruited Minnesota Somalis; and one of the five northern Virginia men (Dec 9, 2009) exchanged emails with an alleged Taliban recruiter.

Over the last 13 years, since the attacks against the Pentagon and the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001 the world has been exposed to the global threat of extremist ideologies. Service men and women have had a firsthand view of the breeding grounds and environments such ideologies are harbored and developed. With the drawdown of the war in Afghanistan, the global war on terrorism will not end. Instead the focus will shift to other dangerous parts of the world where extremists have already become established; places like Somalia in the Horn of Africa. The weak government in Somalia has fostered an environment conducive to the development of extremist ideologies. This is evident

Wood, and stating how Isis’s means are ones of religious identity and justification. ““Religion has a role but it is a role of justification,” he goes on to say, “It’s not why they do this [or] why young people go there.” ISIS members, he says, are using religion to advance a political vision, rather than using politics to advance a religious vision. “To give themselves a bit more legitimacy, they use Islam as their justification. It’s not about religion, it’s about identity . . . You identify with the victims, [with] the guys being killed by your enemies.” For converts to Islam in particular, he adds, “Identity is important to them. They have . . . invested a lot of their own efforts and identity to become this ‘Muslim’ and, because of this, identity is so important to them. They see other Muslims being slaughtered [and say], ‘I need to protect my community.’”” Hasan goes on to describe the type of characters that are willing to fight for Isis and notes them as, “adrenalin junkies”. Young men, maybe angry or just bored willing to die for some justification of their lives. Hasan mentions this idea of an identity incentive as he says, “Rather than religious faith, it has “mostly to do with the search for identity . . . coupled with a search for belonging and purpose. The Islamic State offers all that and empowers the individual within a collective. It does not judge and accepts all with no concern about

In addressing the behavioral and psychological factors, I will identify what vulnerable people are and how they are influenced into recruitment of terrorist organizations. The comparisons provided will be associated to radical Islam and referenced with Mubin Shaikh own experience, as he was radicalized, then recruited for, and then de-radicalized from Radical Islam throughout. On completion of the reasons of how and why individuals join terrorist organizations, I will provide examples of programs of disengagement that are used for de-radicalizing imprisoned or individuals wanting to leave terrorist organizations. Nevertheless, the discussion will then turn to possible deterrents or methods to counter terrorist recruitment efforts.

These publications also reflect the importance of "identity" in trying to persuade young western Muslims to support their idea of a world caliphate. They target and encourage readers who can’t actually travel to their controlled territory to instead commit terror attacks in various locations around the world against “apostates” and “crusaders”; that is, anyone who doesn’t subscribe to the group’s ideology. Their message appeals to many disaffected individuals and emphasizes the struggle and crisis of identity, while promoting the falsehood that ISIS or similar Jihadist groups has the answer to those

Although women can appear to be unlikely suspects in terrorist attacks, women are increasingly participating with terrorist organizations that promote hate, violence, and destruction. In the last 10 years alone, there have been several women associated with terrorist groups, such as ISIS, trying to ensure the groups’ mission statement is carried through. Women are not only leaving their home and their country, but they are also giving up their freedoms to join terrorist organizations. This paper will focus on various ways women become involved in terrorist groups and their role within the groups. The treatment of women within the group will examined as well as their reasons for staying within a group that belittles the female race. Furthermore,

actions. The name Boko Haram was given to the group in 2002 when the leader was elected. The

A follower of Islam named Mohammed Yusuf, wanted to create an organization that abolished the teachings of Western education and a fully Islamic state in Nigeria. They forbid Muslims to participate in any political or social activities associated with Western society. The group started out as a non-violent organization but throughout trying to accomplish the new Islamic state, they evolved into a terrorist organization. The different types of terror consist of hiring jihadis, targeting government agencies, and advancing throughout other surrounding countries. Chothia (2015) states that even with the death of Yusuf in 2014, the organization has become more powerful over time. The new leader, Abubakar Shekau, carries on the ideals and terror. Since he took over, Boko Haram has become more radical and carried out more killings. As Boko Haram emerges itself in its beliefs, the organization’s concentration continues to be influences by Nigeria’s issues of unemployment, economic, and social class. It is projected that Boko Haram’s future activities could correlate with previous attacks that have been carried out (Smith, 2015). Boko Haram continues to establish new ways of terrorism towards the public with each day that passes. Through motivating civilians to become fighters in their organization, Boko Haram becomes more powerful as their group grows in members. I believe that Boko Haram is considered a terrorist organization due to their focus on a political outcome. It thrives on persuading the public to turn against their religion and the fundamentals instilled by the

Although the Islamic State’s main area of operation is in Iraq and Syria, they have affiliates in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and parts of Africa. Much of this support comes from members of the Taliban defecting, and Boko Haram committing itself to support the Islamic State. As a whole, 1,000 terrorists from various locations across the globe join each month. The group has convinced several teenagers to leave their homes and join; if they become disillusioned and attempt to leave, the group kills them. The more territory

Up to 3,400 Westerners, including up to 200 Americans have gone or attempted to travel to Syria to join ISIS (Sanchez 2015, 10). ISIS has not been successful militarily beyond the current area they occupy, although their online presence and propaganda has aided greatly in their efforts at recruiting foreign fighters from throughout the Middle East and the West. This trend is also alarming due to the threat of individuals similarly being influenced and carrying out a “lone wolf” style terrorist attack. As we have seen in recent weeks, ISIS took responsibility for attacks that occurred in Kuwait, Tunisia and France. These attacks claimed the lives of 54 individuals and occurred in close proximity to June 29. This date is significant due to this date being the anniversary of ISIS’s declaration of establishing a caliphate, or holy Islamic state, by ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (Walt 2015, 7). The lone wolf threat is one of the most troubling and difficult to detect and will most likely be the preferred method of future attacks in the Western world. With minimum training, radicalized individuals can strike fear and cause widespread panic wherever they attack and also bring notoriety to the ISIS name, thus furthering the possibility of more individuals wanting to join their