Mohammed Yusuf (Boko Haram)

Education and beliefs

According to scholar Paul Lubeck of the University of California at Santa Cruz, as a young man Yusuf was instructed in Shia Islam and associated with Salafism and the teachings of Ibn Taymiyyah. He had the equivalent of a graduate education, according to Nigerian academic Hussain Zakaria. Yusuf was never as proficient in English as was reported. He believed in the strict application of Islamic law, which represented his ideal of justice according to the teachings of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. Boko Haram hitmen would murder members of other Muslim sects like the Salafist Izala and the Sufi Tidjaniyya and Qadiriya fraternities. In a 2009 BBC interview, Yusuf stated his belief that the concept of a spherical Earth is contrary to Islamic teaching and should be rejected. He also rejected Darwinian evolution, and the concept of the condensation cycle that produces rain. In the interview he said:

There are prominent Islamic preachers who have seen and understood that the present Western-style education is mixed with issues that run contrary to our beliefs in Islam, he said.

Like rain. We believe it is a creation of God rather than an evaporation caused by the sun that condenses and becomes rain.

Like saying the world is a sphere. If it runs contrary to the teachings of Allah, we reject it. We also reject the theory of Darwinism.

Personal life

Yusuf had four wives and 11 children, one of them being Abu Musab al-Barnawi, who claimed since 2016 to be the rightful leader of Boko Haram, opposing Abubakar Shekau.

He was reported as living a lavish lifestyle, supposedly owning a Mercedes-Benz.

Death

Following the July 2009 Boko Haram uprising, the Nigerian military captured Yusuf. They transferred him to the custody of the Nigerian police force. The police summarily executed Yusuf in public view outside the police headquarters in Maiduguri. Police officials initially claimed either that Yusuf was shot while trying to escape or died of wounds he sustained during a gun battle with the military.

References

References

1. Joscelyn, Thomas. (2016-08-04). "Jihadists argue over leadership of Islamic State's West Africa province".
2. [http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20120109052545/http://www.adl.org/main_Terrorism/boko_haram.htm?Multi_page_sections%3DsHeading_2 Boko Haram: The Emerging Jihadist Threat in West Africa – Background], Anti-Defamation League, 12 December 2011.
3. 9780415821377, via books.google.co.uk, page 74
4. Dowd, Robert A.. (1 July 2015). "Christianity, Islam, and Liberal Democracy: Lessons from Sub-Saharan Africa". Oxford University Press.
5. Johnson, Toni. (27 December 2011). "Backgrounder – Boko Haram". Council of Foreign Relations.
6. Vicky, Alain. (1 April 2012). "Aux origines de la secte Boko Haram".
7. (28 July 2009). "Nigeria's 'Taliban' enigma". BBC News.
8. (31 July 2009). "Nigeria sect head dies in custody". BBC News.
9. (4 August 2016). "Shekau Resurfaces, Accuses New Boko Haram Leader al-Barnawi Of Attempted Coup". 360nobs.
10. (31 July 2009). "Nigeria row over militant killing".
11. Adam Nossiter. (7 May 2014). "Abduction of Girls an Act Not Even Al Qaeda Can Condone". The New York Times.
12. (11 October 2012). "Spiraling Violence: Boko Haram Attacks and Security Force Abuses in Nigeria". Human Rights Watch.
13. (9 February 2010). "Video shows Nigeria 'executions'".