The Making of a Mobile Caliphate State in the African Sahel (original) (raw)
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EJMSS Volume NO 3, 2023
The Sahelo-Sahara region, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea, became an attraction for jihadist groups since the end of Cold War in the 1990s. Most of mujahidin (jihadists) from Maghreb, who were fighting Soviets in Afghanistan, returned to their countries of origin. The Global War on Terrorism and the fall of an Islamic State in Afghanistan are among the factors that contributed to the rise of jihadist groups in the Sahel. The fall of Muhammar Ghadhafi and the spread of the Libyan arsenals across the Sahel empowered the Nigerian jihadist group, Boko Haram, militarily. Boko Haram pleaded allegiance to the Islamic State, proclaimed by al-Baghdadi, and became its Province in West Africa. A multinational force was set up to fight the Boko Haram by the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) members. Another similar force was put in place by 5 Sahel States (G5 Sahel), among which are Chad and Niger also members of LCBC. The diversion of Chadian troops from the Lake Chad Basin impacted negatively on the fight against Boko Haram. Using primary and secondary data, the paper analyzed the conditions that seemed to have facilitated the transformation of Boko Haram into a military power, its expansion and affiliation to the Islamic State. Also, exploring the theory of Collective Defense, the paper arrived at conclusions that security of a nation state requires the collaboration of its neighbors, especially when the threat does not confine itself to a same country. African states need to emulate the example of Nigeria in its efforts to fighting terrorism as it mobilized her neighbors, particularly in the North East geopolitical region, to collectively deal with the menace of Boko Haram terrorist group.
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As a region, the Middle East (ME) has remained and continues to be a central location in world affairs; and as a consequence of whatever took and is taking place in that region, nation-states around the globe have been and are continuously affected by the issues there. When we consider the 1990/1991 Gulf War its impact was noted in Africa and elsewhere, and when thinking about the post 9/11 era the world was drawn into the Bush administration's misdirected 'War on Terror' campaign; as a consequence of these events, African communities and states were readily coopted to join Africom serving USA interest and targeting Muslim extremists across Africa. Bearing these events in mind, this essay's purpose is to investigate the effects of ME affairs on Africa's diverse communities. Whilst it is not possible to deal with all of these communities on the continent, it confines itself to Southern Africa where minority Muslim communities reside. It does so with the intention of looking at how the ME trends have influenced these communities. Since the ISIS phenomenon has extented its tentacles into Africa, the essay essentially evaluates its reach and impact. ISIS' contrived extremist agenda has undoubtedly affected these Muslim communities and these communities, which have generally enjoyed their religious freedom regionally, have worked out ways of countering its influence through various means. This being the case, this essay frames the discussion by reflecting on Fiqh Al-'Aqalliyat and religious freedom as two theoretical tools .