Boko Haram literally means "Western education is sacrilege" and are against any type of Westernization of Muslims in Nigeria. Since the group was founded in 2001 by Mohammed Yusuf they have worked to eliminate Western influence in Nigeria and establish Sharia law in the country. Nigeria though, is not a completely Muslim country. It is virtually split into two parts, the Muslim North and the Christian South. There are also a handful of animists spread throughout and the many traders and nomads bounce between areas on a regular basis. So the establishment of Sharia foundations for the state of Nigeria would be absolutely unpalatable for the Christians in the South.
Boko Haram however only rose to international attention in 2009 when sectarian violence broke out in the country. The 2011 Christmas day bombings were the worst violence that Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for. But, President Goodluck Jonathan (which is probably the best head of state name in all the world) closed the borders swiftly after the attacks to put pressure on the group. Now, just a week later it is paying dividends thanks to the help of the Cameroon government. The Cameroon Post has reported the Far North Region of Cameroon (which borders Nigeria) has seen officials starting to clamp down on the radicals movement. It has taken only a week of cooperation to begin to tighten the grip on Boko Haram.
American officials are certainly jealously watching, remembering that they have to partner with an increasingly less cooperative Pakistan.
Cameroon is also divided between a Muslim north and Christian/animist South. The last thing they want to see is Nigeria go up in flames.
ReplyDeleteThese attacks are getting closer to home. There was an attack this week on a church in Yola--the city where my sister and her family live. They work at the American University of Nigeria there. While relations between Christians and Muslims (and between Nigerians and people with Western educations) in Yola is harmonious, it is still vulnerable to attacks by outsiders and any religious violence is bad.