The Boko Haram Paradox: Ethnicity, Religion, and Historical Memory in Pursuit of a Caliphate

To Boko Haram, Nigeria is a colonial construct, lacking Islamic legitimacy and destined to lead society in a downward spiral of Western immorality. The only way to regain northern Nigeria's former glory is through a repudiation of democracy, constitutionalism, and Western values and a return to Islamic governance on the model of the historic caliphates. We argue that Boko Haram's leaders draw their inspiration and legitimacy from Usman Dan Fodio's 1804 Fulani-led jihad and his subsequent establishment of the Sokoto Caliphate in northern Nigeria but seek to implement this style of caliphate in the Kanuri homelands of the former Kanem-Borno Empire.