Nigeria: Report Gives Details, Says Terrorist Groups Gaining Foothold in Nigeria

"I tell you that the message campaign will have a big effect, God willing, because most people have cell phones and every person will send the message to another in Nigeria. (A while ago a message was spread that an earthquake is coming from Ghana and in the night the people came out screaming). But how do we get the numbers?" The poster posts the three main communication companies "MTN," "GLO," and "ZAIN," along with the area codes for each company. Then he insists that as many instant messages should be sent out as possible. Therefore he asks everyone to participate. The poster also suggests some instant messages:

"1. Al-Qa'ida kill take revenge from the Christians and kill them all. The translation into Hausa: 'EN ALKAIDA ZAMUSAYA AKAN-NASARA MUKASHESU GABAADYA.'

"2. The Mujahidin are coming to help the Muslims in Jos. The translation into Hausa: 'MUJAAHIDAI MASU SAYA WAA DON TAIMAKON MUSULMAN TOS PLATEAU.'

"3. Al-Qa'ida is coming to Nigeria. The translation into Hausa: 'EN ALKAIDA MASU TAIMAKONE EA ZUWAAGA NAGERIA.'

"4. All the Muslims in the world are with Jos. The translation into Hausa: 'JAMA,AN MUSULMAI NA DUNIYA TAIMAKOO AKAN JOS PLATEAU.'

"I hope that all the brothers collaborate and we ask the administration to be supportive." (by "Abu Khubab al-Nayjiri" (user number 11181); Thread 58146)

-- In a message entitled "Crusader War in Nigeria; O brothers, join the brothers in Niger [as received]," a forum participant writes that he is posting all his findings from Al-Fallujah Islamic Forums over the past two weeks; he posts several links to Al-Fallujah, a news item entitled "French and Spanish agents and Saudi and Libyan monies to fight AQLIM," an image of the "Crusaders in Nigeria," and a reposting of the AQLIM statement. (by "Asad Khalf al-Qiyud" (user number 4579); Thread 58066) There were no responses to this message.

-- In a message entitled "Nigeria, Islam Is the Law of God for its Worshipers, Where Are the Muslims? Do Not Hesitate To Participate," a forum participant writes that the Muslims in Nigeria, about whom "little is said," are facing "atrocities" and urges other Muslims to take action. (by "abuhamzah" (user number 10940); Thread 58071) This message generated the following response:

"AQLIM issued a statement condemning the silence against these continuous crimes against the Muslims. They announced that they are ready to train Nigerian Muslim youth and arm them to carry out jihad against the Crusader transgression that has become obvious." (by "abuhamzah" (user number 10940); Thread 58071)

Al-Boraq info:

The Al-Boraq.info website at www.alboraq.info was established in May 2007 as a forum affiliated with the Jihad and Reform Front, an umbrella organization formed of the Islamic Army in Iraq and other groups. Al-Boraq.info was seemingly created from a copy of the Al-Buraq Islamic Network, containing all postings made on the original Al-Buraq forum before 20 November 2006 and possessing an identical name and appearance, and administrators of the Al-Buraq Islamic Network issued an official statement accusing the Islamic Army of Iraq of "stealing their private information." While most of the Al-Boraq.info forum is closed to unregistered users, the "Mujahidin Statements and Publications" and "Jihad and Reform Front" forums are open to public viewing.

-- In a message entitled " Al-Qa'ida in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb Offered To Aid the Muslims of Nigeria," a forum participant writes that AQLIM offered training and weapons to Muslims in Nigeria after the violence that broke out last month in Jos, "where more than 460 people were killed." He asks if Al-Qaida has the necessary means and capabilities to do so. (by "Ibn Abbas" (user number 20334); Thread 147461). This message generated the following response:

"AQLIM is on the verge of being wiped out. It is in a bad situation due to the consecutive strikes against them by the Algerian security forces, as well as the internal problems they suffer from and the recantations of many of its leaders and members." (by "Al-Misbil" (user number 20486); Thread 147461)

Ana al-Muslim Forum:

The Ana al-Muslim website at www.muslm.net is one of the oldest Salafi websites, featuring a number of forums that host statements by a wide array of terrorist and insurgent groups, and open discussion between forum members. The website, which was created in 1996, has a membership of over 61,000 and participants exhibit a wider variety of viewpoints than on many other militant forums.

-- In a message entitled "God Is Great, Several Tribes in Northern of Mali Pledge Their Allegiance to Al-Qa'ida in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb," a forum participant posts part of an article that states that northern Mali is mostly under the control of the Salafists. (by "Al-Mutarabisoun" (user number 110309); Thread 376420) This message generated no responses.

Al-Jazirah Interviews Mufti of Nigeria on Islamic Movements, Sectarian Violence

GMP20100216676001 Doha Al-Jazirah Satellite Channel Television in Arabic 1430 GMT 16 Feb 10

["Today's Encounter" program, featuring an interview with Shaykh Ibrahim Salih al-Husayni, mufti of Nigeria, head of the Islamic Council, and member of the Board of Trustees of the World Federation of Muslim Scholars, by Fadl Abd-al-Razzaq; place, date not given -- recorded. For assistance with multimedia elements, contact OSC at (800) 205-8615 or OSCinfo@rccb.osis.gov.]

[Abd-al-Razzaq] Our guest today is His Eminence Shaykh Ibrahim Salih al-Husayni, mufti of Nigeria, head of the Islamic Council in Nigeria, and member of the Board of Trustees of the World Federation of Muslim Scholars. Shaykh Al-Husayni, welcome.

[Al-Husayni] Thank you.

[Abd-al-Razzaq] Events in Nigeria seem to be accelerating. A Muslim Nigerian citizen was accused of trying to blow up a US plane. Why would a Nigerian Muslim try to do such a thing?

[Al-Husayni] I seek God's protection against the cursed Satan. In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. Peace and blessings be upon our master Prophet Muhammad, the last of the Prophets, the intercessor of the Sinners, and God's messenger to the world. As you said, events have started to accelerate in Nigeria, contrary to how things were in the past. Events followed events and all moved in the opposite direction with regard to the situation of Muslims in Nigeria in the past and to the structure of the Muslim mentality in Nigeria.

Before speaking about the issue of Umar Faruq Abd-al-Muttalib, I would like to say that Faruq Abd-al-Muttalib is a person who is well known for serving his people in Nigeria. The best word to use in describing him is that he is a religious man and a successful businessman in the field of economy. He occupied several state posts, especially in the economic field in banks and so forth. He comes from the former North-Central State and he is now a citizen of Katina, which is a Nigerian state that split from the Kaduna State, and it is in central Nigeria as is known.

Nigeria has really started to face fearful issues, especially with regard to those who began to move toward violence and deviate from the path of peace, moderation, and high ideals in the field of ethics that were praised by Islam and called for and explained. This deviation was evident in a few incidents. Some men of religion, known well for their positions and trends, had earlier been assassinated in the city of Kano.

[Abd-al-Razzaq] Will the accusations leveled at this Nigerian citizen affect the situation of Muslims in this country?

[Al-Husayni] We believe that this boy, Umar, who is now in his early twenties as he is only 23 years old, was attracted mainly by the fundamentalist Islamic ideology, which is really alien to this country. This ideology has come to this country from abroad, taking advantage of the Muslims' love for Islam in this country and love for changing the pattern of life to agree with the Islamic religion and the call to the real and sound religion by our master Prophet Muhammad, God's peace and blessings be upon him.

[Abd-al-Razzaq] Does this mean this ideology has links in Nigeria?

[Al-Husayni] This ideology has started only recently. As I told you, we are facing many problems locally, but the ideology that is linked to violence and departure from clemency in public life is imported to Nigeria. It is alien to this country. Past events showed that there are some who lure the young people who have no experience or correct Islamic education. There are many organizations in Europe, especially in Britain, that attract these young people when they go there and they instill in them such ideas.

[Abd-al-Razzaq] We are here talking about Al-Qa'ida organization specifically. Is there evidence that Al-Qa'ida exists in Nigeria?

[Al-Husayni] As far as I know, Al-Qa'ida has no real existence here, but some people wish to belong to Al-Qa'ida. There are some who begin as Muslim fundamentalists who call for Islam as preachers and instructors, but their lack of awareness and their inability to distinguish between Al-Qa'ida ideology and the correct Salafi Muslim ideology that is forgiving of other people make them mix things up and confuse between the two trends. Therefore, they become members of Al-Qa'ida either knowingly or unknowingly and in one way or another. This is what happened to Umar. He went to London for study. He studied and met there with some people. As his father told me, they told him that he should always go to the mosque and pray. This sometimes made him neglect his education. Briefly speaking, Al-Qa'ida ideology exists in areas close to Nigeria. It is present in the Sahara, Mauritania, Algeria, Mali, and other neighboring countries. Its presence is unofficial but it is there. The youth are enthusiastic about the call to Islam. Since their basic religious life was not oriented at the hands of wise Muslim scholars or men of religion in this country, they would listen to anyone who speaks to them and follow his path. Therefore, they took this direction. Some go abroad and return with these ideas. Accordingly, all sorts of ideas are brought into this country.

[Abd-al-Razzaq] One day after the failure of the attempt made by Umar Faruq Abd-al-Muttalib, the Nigerian security forces in Bauchi killed about 40 people, whose ideas were described as extremist. Was there a link between the Bauchi killings and what happened in the United States?

[Al-Husayni] No, there was no link between this and that because this group, which sowed sedition in Bauchi, is a faction or sect known as Kala Kato or the Koranists. They are a group of students of the Koran who do not believe in all other books, including the Hadith and Sunnah. Their creed says only the Koran is the law of the society that should be followed. These are true words intended for falsehood. They are true because the Koran is the basis for every Muslim. "Verily this Koran doth guide to that which is most right." [Part of Koranic verse; Al-Isra; 17:9] They are false because the Koran needs other things to enable people to understand it correctly. The first requirement is the Arabic language. Some of them do not speak even 10 words in Arabic correctly. They do not understand the Koran well.

There was rivalry between the two sides although both belonged to the Koranic sect. When the police and army came to settle the dispute between the two sides and control the situation, one of the two groups attacked the police and army. Therefore, they were confronted by force because the army realized that that was a rebellion. These are not really from Al-Qa'ida or the extremist Salafi movement. They are well known and they were previously convicted in Nigeria. The government and security quarters know these people. The ideas of these people can be linked to the ideas of Boko Haram group [which believes that Western or non-Islamic education is a sin] in terms of their rejection of modern education. They reject all schools and consider them blasphemous. This is what links the Boko Haram group to the group called Kala Kato, meaning the infidels said. By this they mean the scholars who write books on the Sunna of the Prophet. The preface of each book says the Shaykh or imam said this and that. They reject this and believe only in the Koran, in which God says things. They reject what the Shaykh says and believe only in what God says.

[Abd-al-Razzaq] Did the police deal with them in an appropriate manner? Forty persons were killed in one place.

[Al-Husayni] The police had past experience with them. All people are convinced that only violence works with them because dealing with them on the basis of logic will not yield positive results because they do not base things on logic. Dealing with them kindly, leniently, and mercifully also does not work with them because they deal with people in a different manner. They deal with them through violence and killing. The police or soldiers went there to settle the dispute and separate between the two sides, but one of the two sides believed that anything done by the government was blasphemy and that no good at all can come from the army, police, or anyone who follows the constitution or government. These are their beliefs. Therefore, they opened fire on the officers and killed people. Therefore, the army responded to them. I do not agree with killing people collectively in this manner. I wished it was possible to avoid such a thing as this would be better, but unfortunately there was no way to control the situation except in this manner. This is similar to what happened when the Boko Haram group killed people without discrimination.

[Abd-al-Razzaq] The Boko Haram group consists of a large number of people. They are perhaps more than 3,000. At the end of incidents, official statements said at least 600 of them were killed. Why were so many of them killed in Nigeria and even in one state? What makes such a large group have problems with the government?

[Al-Husayni] Actually, Boko Haram is a wrong name. Boko Haram means Western culture and education are a taboo. This made the ideology of this group or sect focus on objecting to western education. This is wrong because such a thing does not address the issue at hand but misleads the public about facts. These people are known as Salafists. They established the Ibn-Taymiyah Center and they are in this center. They object to the constitution and all world constitutions. They believe that anyone who works in accordance with the constitution will be a polytheist who has abandoned the exalted Book of God, especially since "no falsehood can approach it from before or behind it: It is sent down by One Full of Wisdom, Worthy of all Praise. [Koranic verse; Fussilat; 41:42] We have known them as students whose teachers are still there. They adopt the Salafi ideology and call for it. The Salafi ideology is called the Wahhabi ideology in Nigeria. It is a branching ideology that is not interconnected. It has the Wahhabi, Taymiyah, Tajdid, and other schools of thought that you cannot put together in one creed or opinion. But since interest in western culture in this country is more important, they called this Boko Haram as if western education is the biggest sin. They did not note that pronouncing the entire Islamic nation wherever it is, especially in Nigeria, as infidel was a greater crime than banning western culture and education.

[Abd-al-Razzaq] Does this show that they pronounced the entire nation in Nigeria as infidel? Did they permit anything that was considered a Muslim taboo in this country?

[Al-Husayni] Yes, they pronounced it so in all their speeches and tapes, including the last tape we said was fabricated. It expressed their ideas that viewed others as infidels. It said all infidels in Nigeria should be wiped out and anyone who stands in the way of the one who wants to kill Muslim infidels in government and elsewhere, including traditional rulers and scholars, will be considered an infidel and must be killed. This is their creed. When they began their work, they killed people. They killed people for two or three days without being confronted by the government. The government left the matter to the local authorities, but these could not control this situation. Therefore, they killed people and sowed corruption. This is well known. Later, however, the government found that the problem was too difficult for the local authorities to solve. Therefore, it sent the army. They did not stop even when the army intervened. People saw how they destroyed many schools and killed people there. They also destroyed some churches and killed some Christians. They also killed Muslims. The members of this sect pronounce anyone who does not believe in their ideas as an infidel. We have prepared a complete study -- although we have not finished it yet -- on the history and development of religious differences and disputes after Nigeria's independence and up to the day of Boko Haram. We supported this study with documents. The study will, God willing, be published when completed so that all people can see it. It explains these ideas in detail.

[Abd-al-Razzaq] There are also problems between Muslims and others in this country. More than 400 people were killed in the city of Jos for religious reasons, according to the report issued on the incident.

[Al-Husayni] The media that is dominating world events is the western media. I think it was the only media that prevailed before Al-Jazirah. Therefore, this media depicts events the way it wants and then presents it to the world. The world is forced to accept reports the way they are. Clashes occur between Muslims and Christians in Nigeria whether in the north or south. For example, there were clashes in Bauchi [words indistinct] and Jos, from which people continue to suffer. Also there were clashes in Kafanchan and Kaduna as well as clashes between the Hausa and Yoruba Muslims in Lagos and clashes between Muslims and Christians in the Igbo land in eastern Nigeria. All these incidents and others that occur every now and then between Muslims and non-Muslims like the incidents that occurred in Sabon Gari and Midori in Borno basically have nothing to do with Islam or Christianity or religion in general. They are due to economic, tribal, or political reasons. Ethnicity, tribalism, economy, and unemployment are main reasons for these problems. Problems do occur over a lot of land or farms, or over taking possession of a village with its farms, for example. Religion feeds such things when it is circulated that a group of Christians fought with a group of Muslims without asking about the reasons for the dispute. This is attributed to religious extremism or fanaticism. Therefore, it is said that this is sedition between Muslims and Christians without discrimination. It should not be said that this is caused by religion. The real reasons are politics and tribal and ethnic sectarian differences.

Therefore, it is wrong to say religion and religious fanaticism are the reason for all problems between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria. This is proven by the fact that some of the Muslim people of Yoruba, who took part in these incidents, cooperated with their non-Muslim brothers because the tribe united them. They helped them fight the Hausa, with whom they shared one religion. Here we cannot say the Yoruba people abandoned Islam when they helped and supported the Christians. They pray in mosques the way we pray and they perform all that Muslims perform, but tribalism has its roots. There are tribal societies like the Odudwa, for example. This is a tribal society that includes all tribes. You can even say that it has even a stronger influence on ordinary people than Islam. Therefore, we see problems occur every now and then between Muslims and Christians in the north and south, but the reasons are not all related to Islam or strict adherence to Islam or Christianity. There are other things that feed this trend.

[Abd-al-Razzaq] Shaykh Ibrahim Salih al-Husayni, mufti of Nigeria and member of the Board of Trustees of the World Federation of Muslim Scholars, thank you.

[Description of Source: Doha Al-Jazirah Satellite Channel Television in Arabic -- Independent Television station financed by the Qatari Government]

Forum Member Sends Message of Support to Nigerian 'Brothers' in Boko Haram Group

GMP20100226121001 Jihadist Websites -- OSC Summary in Editing 17 Feb 10

On 17 February, a forum participant posted to a jihadist website a message entitled "The Wounds of Our Brothers in the Boko Haram Are Bleeding - Any Help?" In his message, the participant supports his Nigerian Muslim "brothers" in the Boko Haram group. The participant "wonders:" "Where are the movements that call themselves Islamic? Where are those who rant in the name of resistance and jihad? And where are those who rant in the name of democracy and human rights? He quotes several Koranic verses to condemn the "depraved Christian and Jews with their effete collaborating Arabs." The participant says: "What is taking place today on the arenas of planet earth is but a stage of 'labor' for the birth of the state of great Islam."

A translation of the posting follows:

"In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate

"Lord of the 19 [REFERENCE to the 19 insurgents who carried out the 9/11 attacks]

"Praise be to God; prayer and peace be upon God's messenger

"Brothers and sisters of da'wah [Islamic call to submit to God], monotheism, and jihad all over the world

"We greet you with the greeting of great Islam;

"Peace, God's mercy, and blessings be upon you

"Almighty God states: 'Never will the Jews or the Christians be satisfied with thee unless thou follow their form of religion. Say: "The Guidance of Allah,-that is the (only) Guidance." Wert thou to follow their desires after the knowledge which hath reached thee, then wouldst thou find neither Protector nor helper against Allah.' [Koranic verse, Al-Baqarah, 2: 120]

"Everybody has seen or heard about what happened and is happening on the land of African Islamic Nigeria, in terms of slaying and burning of Muslims by the depraved Christians, especially what is happening in Jos in the middle of the country, where the worshippers of the Cross and the stooges of Zionism prevent Muslims from building mosques, in which the name of God is cited. They prevent the propagation of the da'wah of the true Islamic religion. They undeterrably got carried away with the killing, burning, displacing, and expelling of our Muslim brothers there under the sight and hearing of the so-called human rights organizations, 'For us Allah sufficeth, and He is the best disposer of affairs' [Partial Koranic verse, Al-Imran, 3: 173].

"Hence, we wish to ask all rightful Muslims or non-Muslims: What if these massacres were carried out against the Jews?! The world then would have made a big deal out of it, and you would have seen the commiserations coming from everywhere for them. You would have also seen memorials being erected throughout the world to cry over what they call the victims of the 'Holocaust,' but the Muslims' massacres - no one cries about them!

"Those Christians and Jews and their effete collaborating Arabs have forgotten that these massacres, which are continuing against Muslims in Nigerian, incite enmity and hatred toward the false democracy that the ranters brag about. The 'free' world should be prepared to face the Islamic rage that is coming to them from everywhere. The Muslim giant is now rising and thriving on all areas of planet earth. The day will come when we will bring down the heads of evil and aggression in Nigeria with their collaborators, and tomorrow is not far off for those awaiting it.

"Almighty God states: 'The Day that the wrong-doer will bite at his hands, he will say, "Oh! Would that I had taken a (straight) path with the Messenger.' [Koranic verse, Al-Furqan, 25: 27]

"May God rest the soul of Shaykh Muhammad Yusuf [leader of the Boko Haram group], the Muslim leader who was killed at the hands of the lords of evil, aggression, and depravity in Nigeria. The killers should know that the day of punishment is inevitably coming; they will not find a way out under the coming Islamic empire - God willing. The silent descendants of Ya'rib Bin-Qahtan [the first man to speak Arabic] should know that the manifest swords of truth will definitely get them; the worst is yet to come.