Attachments
Boko Haram, a Hausa phrase meaning ‘Western Education is forbidden’ or ‘Western Education is sinful’ is the name commonly used to refer to the movement ‘Ahlisunnah Lidda’awati wa’l-Jihad’, or the ‘People Committed for the Propagation of the Prophet’s Teachings and Jihad’. The movement has its origins in Maiduguri city, the capital of Borno state in North East Nigeria. The phrase Boko Haram gained popularity in the early 2000s in the immediate post September 11, 2001 terror attacks in the United States of America and although now widely used, it does not adequately capture the real objective of the movement which is to overthrow the secular government and establish an Islamic state run under Sharia law, ultimately, rid the territory of all forms of Western influences.