Boko Haram

===Founding===
[[Mohammed Yusuf (Boko Haram)|Mohammed Yusuf]] founded the sect that became known as Boko Haram in 2002 in Maiduguri, the capital of the north-eastern state of Borno. He established a religious complex and school that attracted poor Muslim families from across Nigeria and neighbouring countries. The center had the political goal of creating an [[Islamic state]], and became a recruiting ground for [[Jihadism|jihadis]]. By denouncing the police and state corruption, Yusuf attracted followers from unemployed youth.<ref name=cfrBackgrounder/><ref name="bbc20110826">{{cite news |first=Farouk |last=Chothia |title=Who are Nigeria's Boko Haram Islamists? |date=11 January 2012 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13809501 |work=[[BBC News]] |access-date=25 January 2012}}</ref><ref name="IRIN">{{cite news |url=http://www.irinnews.org/Report/93250/Analysis-Understanding-Nigeria-s-Boko-Haram-radicals |title=Analysis: Understanding Nigeria's Boko Haram radicals |publisher=www.irinnews.org |date=18 July 2011 |access-date=12 March 2012}}</ref><ref name=econ1405>{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/blogs/erasmus/2014/05/islam-west-and-nigeria |title=Whose faith, whose girls? |newspaper=[[The Economist]]}}</ref> He is reported to have used the existing infrastructure in Borno of the [[Izala Society]] (Jama'at Izalatil Bidiawa Iqamatus Sunnah), a popular conservative Islamic sect, to recruit members, before breaking away to form his own faction. The Izala were originally welcomed into government, along with people sympathetic to Yusuf. Boko Haram conducted its operations more or less peacefully during the first seven years of its existence, withdrawing from society into remote north-eastern areas, believing it was important to develop strength before waging jihad.<ref name="too-much-2017">{{cite journal |last1=Zenna |first1=Jacob |last2=Pierib |first2=Zacharias |title=How much Takfir is too much Takfir? The Evolution of Boko Haram's Factionalization. |journal=Journal for Deradicalization |date=Summer 2017 |issue=11 |pages=281–303 |url=https://journals.sfu.ca/jd/index.php/jd/article/download/107/90 |access-date=6 March 2021 |issn=2363-9849}}</ref> The government repeatedly ignored warnings about the increasingly militant character of the organization.<ref name="CTC" /><ref name=accused>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/aug/02/nigeria-boko-haram-islamist-sect |title=Nigeria accused of ignoring sect warnings before wave of killings |date=2 August 2009 |access-date=6 August 2009 |work=[[The Guardian]]|location=London}}</ref> The Council of Ulama advised the government and the [[Nigerian Television Authority]] not to broadcast Yusuf's preaching, but their warnings were ignored. Yusuf's arrest elevated him to hero status. Borno's Deputy Governor Alhaji Dibal has reportedly claimed that [[al-Qaeda]] had ties with Boko Haram, but broke them when they decided that Yusuf was an unreliable person.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}} Stephen Davis, a former Anglican clergyman who has negotiated with Boko Haram many times blames local Nigerian politicians who support local bandits like Boko Haram in order for them to make life difficult for their political opponents. In particular Davis has blamed the former governor of Borno State [[Ali Modu Sheriff]], who initially supported Boko Haram, but no longer needed them after the 2007 elections and stopped funding them. Sheriff denies the accusations.<ref name="Lamb">{{cite news|last1=Lamb|first1=Christina|title=A fight for the soul of the world|url=http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/public/magazine/article1680538.ece|access-date=23 March 2016|newspaper=Sunday Times|date=20 March 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161129233128/http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/public/magazine/article1680538.ece |archive-date=2016-11-29}}</ref>