Tenth International Conference on Religion & Spirituality in Society

Abstract

This Islamic religion is perhaps one of the most misunderstood and misinterpreted, even by the followers of the religion. Several Quranic injunctions and Prophetic Hadiths were misconstrued, misperceived, and misutilised by especially the youth with little knowledge of the religion towards revolutionary and extremists’ activities such as insurgency and terrorism. This work is an attempt to examine how the Jama’atu Ahlul Sunnah Lid Da’awati Wal Jihad (popularly known as Boko Haram) in Northeastern Nigeria misperceived the concept of Jihad from the Islamic point of view, which led to the dangerous movement that metamorphosed into a full-blown insurgency and terrorism. The work adopted both primary and secondary sources of data. The primary source is an interview with selected informants including religious clerics, academicians, security personnel, civil society, and international donors. The secondary sources include books, journals, newspapers, reports, and internet sources. The data obtained were analysed and discussed using content analysis. The research discovered that the youth are misguided and misdirected with problematic notions and interpretations of Jihad in Nigerian society with regard to the current Fatwas (injunctions) in its context and application, which led them towards extremism in taking weapons to embark on insurgency and terrorism. The work recommends that there is a need for monitoring of religious activities by the state, and clear guidelines for preaching and religious activities is necessary to avert such movements in future.