Salafi satorial choices

Moses E. Ochonu, Mail & Guardian/The Conversation, Why the sartorial choices of Salafi clerics sparked a debate on morality in Nigeria, 11 Jan 2018 " The debate about modernity, Islam, and morality has migrated to online platforms because the internet is relatively anonymous. This has given both sides greater freedom to express their views. The debate encapsulates the ongoing ideological struggle in northern Nigerian Islam between those who live and defend a modern lifestyle, and those suspicious of Western modernity and the unmediated influence of Western education and culture."

'Hashtag fail? #BringBackOurGirls two years on'

AFP, Hashtag fail? #BringBackOurGirls two years on, 13 Apr 2016 "On the ground, 219 of the 276 girls are still missing, their Government Girls Secondary School is a broken ruin and Chibok is desperate for development."

Tutlub

Katie Collins, cnet.com, Muslims seek safe haven in Tutlub social network " Tutlub, which means "to ask" in Arabic, stands in contrast to the fear that social networks have become recruitment tools for extremist groups such as ISIS. Instead, the social network is a place for Muslims to discuss their faith, seek guidance and read curated content. Hassan also wants the site to monitor and counter the spread of propaganda."

eGranary Digital Library

aljazeera/maktoob, Nigerian offline library opens access to all "The eGranary Digital Library - also known as The Internet in a Box - has been developed by a US-based non-profit called the WiderNet Project.

""It gives me up-to-date information unlike the normal library, where textbooks sometimes are outdated," Abubakar Mohammed, a final year law student at Ahmadu Bello University, told Al Jazeera."

Boko Haram attacks - update

Guardian, Boko Haram's 'deadliest massacre': 2,000 feared dead in Nigeria "Amnesty International calls the killings ‘a disturbing and bloody escalation’ and a local defence group says its fighters have given up trying to count the bodies." Widely under-reported

Boko Haram - opinion piece

Jacob Zenn, Washington Post, Boko Haram is acting increasingly like the Islamic State. Why don’t we treat it that way?, 13 Nov 2014 "The United States may have “insurgency fatigue” as a result of unsettled scores in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, let alone the enduring conflicts in Libya, Mali, Somalia and elsewhere. But Nigeria is a longtime ally of the United States, and effective global leadership in West Africa is needed to halt Boko Haram’s momentum. Only then can students like those in Yobe State, Chibok and elsewhere have the opportunity to craft a future for themselves and their country."

'Counter-Terrorism: The Electronic Jihad'

Strategy Page, Counter-Terrorism: The Electronic Jihad "In April 2014 a Moslem man (Lawal Olaniyi Babafemi) from Nigeria pled guilty in an American court to charges that he had participated in an al Qaeda operation in Yemen to promote Islamic terrorism via the Internet. Babafemi faces up to 30 years in jail for going to Yemen in 2010 and joining al Qaeda. He later returned to Nigeria and was arrested there and extradited to the United States in 2013. He is one of an increasing number of Islamic terrorist sympathizers who stay out of the battleground areas and provide support via the Internet. Terrorist leaders now recognize this sort of support is important for jihad (struggle) and it is encouraged."

Boko Haram and online activities

CBS News, Nigeria schoolgirl kidnapping boosts Boko Haram's online presence, for better or worse "While the reaction has been a mix of support and condemnation of the group's kidnapping of almost 300 teenage girls from their school in the northern Borno province, the overall outpouring of interest seems to have elevated the group to a more equal footing with other al Qaeda affiliates -- at least on the vital modern battlefield of the Internet."

'Boko Haram Nigeria Changes Tactics'

Leadership, Boko Haram Nigeria Changes Tactics, 12 Dec 2013, "If the information available to Defence Focus on the counter-insurgency is anything to go by, the war against the Boko Haram terrorists is taking a new dimension that is out to isolate them from the populace and break their communication links."

Boko Haram

Benjamin S. Eveslage, terrorismanalysts.com, Clarifying Boko Haram’s Transnational Intentions, Using Content Analysis of Public Statements in 2012 "To advance understanding of the dynamic global security threats emerging in West Africa, this article analyses the radical Islamic sect in Nigeria popularly called “Boko Haram”.This was done by addressing the question: What is the likelihood that Boko Haram will transnationalize? Current literature is inconclusive. On the one hand, some discuss Boko Haram as part of an international network of terror groups, and therefore a transnational threat, while others describe the Boko Haram conflict within a domestic or regional context. This article offers, for the first time, a systematic content analysis of the group’s public statements issued in 2012 to address this question. The analysis found Boko Haram to express itself in an intrinsically domestic orientation, and as such, transnationalization is unlikely. However, Boko Haram also exhibited a highly reactive modus operandi – highlighting concerns for increased transnationalization if international actors engage Boko Haram. In light of the analysis, policy recommendations are offered."

I haven't read this one yet.

Minbar Ansar Deen and Boko Haram

BBC News, Two extremist groups face UK ban "Support for two extremist groups - Minbar Ansar Deen and Boko Haram - is to be made a criminal offence in the UK."

Courtship in Islam - opinion piece

Opinion piece Ustaz AbdulJaleel Solaudeen, Tribune (Nigeria), Courtship in Islam  "Internet courting is in new practice found among the muslims today. This act is not encouraged because of its woes. In most cases it involves giving false impression about oneself just to win the heart of the man or woman. It also involves wasting our precious time in writing polished e-mails and exchanging worthless chats."

'Al Qaida blames Germany'

Daily Times Nigeria, Hostage Death: Al Qaida blames Germany, 11 Jun 2012 "Al Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) declared that Germany ordered the raid which was, according to them, a breach in their negotiations. "

"Your government gave the green light for the operation," the group stated in a message posted late Monday night on an internet forum."

Al Qaeda Tied to Nigeria Death

WSJ, Al Qaeda Tied to Nigeria Death, 31 May 2012 "A kidnapped German engineer was killed during a rescue mission early Thursday in Nigeria's restive north, a Nigerian official said, in an episode that appears to signal al Qaeda's intent to infiltrate Africa's top oil producer and secure the release of a woman who had been jailed in Germany for terror-related activities." Internet linkage to this story.

Nigeria: On the 'Qur'an Birth' Controversy

Mohammad Qaddam Sidq Isa, Daily Herald/allafrica.com, Nigeria: On the 'Qur'an Birth' Controversy, 25 May 2012 "A story recently published in some newspapers in Nigeria, and went viral on the Internet, that a baby was born clutching a copy of the noble Qur'an in his right hand, stirred up a controversy over its authenticity, scientific and religious explanations."

Boko Haram video release

Reuters/defenceweb, Nigeria Islamist video warns of more attacks on media, 2 May 2012 "Islamist group Boko Haram released a video late celebrating its bombing of a Nigerian newspaper and warning of more attacks on local and foreign media if they published reports that were biased to the sect or insulting to Islam."

Boko Haram

jamestown.org, Boko Haram: A Militant Leadership Monitor Special Report "In this “Special Report on Boko Haram: Nigeria’s Islamist Movement” we examine the rise of Boko Haram’s elusive leader Abu Shekau, and the policies of the group’s charismatic leader – Mohammed Yusuf – the former leader whose death in 2009 led to Abu Shekau’s rise as well as increased international focus on the group's activities in recent years." Publication available to purchase via this link I haven't seen this, but it sounds interesting.

Boko Haram 'leader' issues new threats in internet message

Sapa-AFP/timeslive.co.za, Boko Haram 'leader' issues new threats in internet message, 27 Jan 2012 "The purported leader of Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram has issued new threats in a message posted on YouTube while also saying last week's attacks in Kano were over the torture of its members."

Boko Haram statement

AP, Nigeria sect leader lauds al-Qaida, threatens US, 13 Jul 2010 "Imam Abubakar Shekau, a deputy for the Boko Haram sect whom police claimed to have killed during the July 2009 violence, issued the statement on a jihadist Internet forum."

Nigerian Shaira Court Facebook and Twitter 'ban'

Ayo Okulaja, Next, Sharia court upholds ban on Facebook, 31 Mar 2010 "A Sharia court sitting in Kaduna on Tuesday upheld last week’s ruling that an online discussion on the first wrist amputation in the country be banned.

"The online forum was launched by the Civil Rights Congress (CRC), a civil society organisation, to mark the 10th anniversary of the first Sharia-court ordered amputation in Nigeria - that of Buba Bello Jangebe, alias ‘Kare Garke’ (ranch raider), by the Zamfara State government.

"The Magajin Gari Sharia court last week ordered the CRC and its head, Shehu Sani, to suspend its online debate on the amputation through an interim injunction that restrained the respondents from opening a chat forum on Facebook, Twitter, or any blog for the purpose of the debate on the amputation of Mr. Jangebe pending yesterday’s hearing of the case."

Also see

worldnewsvine.com, Victor Ulasi, Update: Nigerian religious court bans the use of Facebook and Twitter, 30 Mar 2010 "The President of the Association of Muslim Brotherhood of Nigeria, Ustaz Safiyan Abubakar made it known that on no grounds should the internet be used to discuss Sharia in such place that is abominable to God, or neither is anyone allowed to make mockery to Islam just because he is a human right activist.

"We are not against Civil Right Congress discussing about the arm amputation of Mallam Bellow Jangebe in anyway because the amputation was politically inspired but the discussion of Sharia been supreme or not supreme and deciding if the Sharia is right or wrong is totally unacceptable because Islam is Supreme and Sharia is been practiced by the teachings of Islam. Facebook and Twitter are unholy place to talk about Sharia, doing that is an intimidation and undermining of the teachings of Islam. Only a foul gives to dog what is holy,” Abubakar added."