Boko Haram

The Past of the Present Upheaval

Moses E. Ochonu

• Publisher: University of California Press
• Year: 2026
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9780520417700
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: African History

For many observers, the predation of Boko Haram, unsparing and venal in its manifestation, is shocking, and it seems to lack a local historical frame of reference that would help make it understandable. For others, Boko Haram's self-declared jihad resonates within a long, local, contested historical memory of religious militancy. This book makes sense of these two seemingly contradictory perceptions. It explains Boko Haram's simultaneous connection to, and disconnection from, a complex history of religious dissidence and militancy in Northern Nigeria. It also answers the question of where the militants came from, what inspired and motivated them, and whether there is a local history of militant religious rebellion that could both illuminate and challenge Boko Haram's self-proclaimed jihad. Moses E. Ochonu analyzes the rise and evolution of the Boko Haram movement within and against the contentious religious pasts of Northern Nigeria.

Table of contents

• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction: Boko Haram Beyond the Spectacle of Violence
• 1. Before Boko Haram: Contexts and Catalysts
• 2. Reform and Rejection
• 3. Boko Haram’s Antimodernism Historicized
• 4. Combat, Captives, and Coping
• Epilogue: Historical Speculations on Boko Haram’s Future
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index