The Inexorable Advance
Just as once the armies of Mohammad did battle to conquer and coerce desert tribes and Bedouin in the name of Islam, then moved on to advance the faithful beyond the Middle East, into Europe, so too now does another offshoot of Islam, fanatical Islamism, political jihadist Islam, seek to widen its sphere of influence further into Africa, throughout the Middle East and Asia, and into Europe, by stealth and by terror, whatever works.Nigeria is now one of the latest breeding grounds for al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, part of the now-international network initially established by Osama bin Laden and his dedicated terror group. Bin Laden's original falling out with Saudi Arabia simply expanded its purview to embrace the world of the West, its values, religion, and politics, and socio-economic superiority. Islamism is meant to conquer all, to produce a worldwide Caliphate of control steeped in Islamic principles.
These would be principles unlike any that most Muslims would recognize; converted, contorted, convulsed into another all-consuming social-political system with its base in a mode of religious belief that leaves no space for alternatives or for any manner of religious, social or political system outside the narrative of submission to Allah and only he.
Al-Qaeda has been singularly successful in imbuing its adherents with the blissful elixir of martyrdom, to completely and without restraints of any kind surrender one's life and purpose to the elevation and honour of Islam, rendering to Allah and to the Prophet Mohammad their divine due. Nigeria is now undergoing paroxysms of turmoil, with the formerly thuggish Boko Haram transformed into Islamist avengers prepared to martyr themselves for the cause.
Where formerly the group was satisfied with armed robbery, with targeting and killing Christians, they have now branched out into producing improvised explosive devices, a specialty of the Taliban and al-Qaeda, and embarking on suicide missions, directly facing off against state security, thanks to their new training by al-Qaeda in Niger, a key operating base for AQIM.
Eight assaults were undertaken by roughly one hundred Boko Haram terrorists in the city of Kano, resulting in the killing of 185, and the routing of security forces. Gunmen and suicide bombers some dressed in police or military uniforms, engaged in multiple co-ordinated attacks, destroying two police stations as well as the regional police headquarters, damaging the regional office of the State Security Service, in the process.
Sophisticated detonators were used in the IEDs, with shrapnel tightly packed into soft drink cans for maximum effect. "Suicide bombing was, until recently, something we saw in the movies. People never thought that anybody here would do that", mused a security analyst from a foundation that monitors Nigeria's justice system.
Boko Haram is organized, well trained, focused. Capable of outclassing and outgunning in their militia training, the state security forces. The original al-Qaeda was prematurely written off as a force to be reckoned with, said by analysts to be passing into history. It may have seemed that way for a short while, but it's abundantly clear that it has motivated, stimulated and gained co-operative ventures on a global scale with those who emulate them.
That co-operation has resulted in a wide network of training camps dedicated to the overthrow of conventional, moderate un-Islamist governments and societies. The plan being to gradually convert them to a fanatical vision of Islam on the model of what the Taliban achieved in Afghanistan, while hosting Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda.
Should the still-fledgling network achieve eventual success in the countries involuntarily hosting them, the question will then be will they remain domestic or will they look further afield for expansion and conquest?
Labels: Africa, Islamism, Terrorism
posted by Pieface @ Tuesday, February 07, 2012
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