Abstract
The goal of this chapter is to thoroughly understand the context of the dominant jihadist narratives and the nature of their appeal in the Sahelian region. All these jihadist ideologies are based on a peculiar Salafi Radicalism that aimed to transform the state and society by methods of preaching and violence. Therefore, studying and analyzing the principles of the Salafist discourse as a political project helps us to understand its points of strengths and weaknesses. In addition, we can be better look at the future trends and prospects of violent jihadist groups in the African Sahel. The roots of this Islamic discourse as a political project may be attributed to what Lunay and Suarez call the “Islamic domain.” The rise of violent radical Islamism represents drive from the internal political and socioeconomic dynamics evolving in each Sahelian state. However, the struggle and rivalry of jihadist ideologies after the military defeat of Daesh in Mosul is important at a time when thousands of fighters who have survived the civil wars in Iraq, Syria, and Libya are looking for new jihadist fields.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Agbiboa D (2015) The social dynamics of the “Nigerian Taliban”: fresh insights from the social identity theory. Soc Dyn 41(3):415–437
Barnes C, Hassan H (2007) The rise and fall of Mogadishu’s Islamic courts. J East Afr Stud 1(2):151–160
Bassou A, Guennoun I (2017) Al Qaeda vs. Daech in the Sahel: what to expect? http://www.ocppc.ma/publications/al-qaeda-vs-daech-sahel-what-expect. Accessed on 15 July 2018
Benjaminsen TA (2008) Does supply-induced scarcity drive violent conflicts in the African Sahel? The case of the Tuareg rebellion in northern Mali. J Peace Res 45(6):819–836
Black A (2009) Mokhtar Belmokhtar: the Algerian Jihad’s southern Amir. Terrorism Monitor VII(12):8–10
Bossard L (2014) An atlas of the Sahara-Sahel: geography, economics and security. Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development/Sahel and West Africa Club, Paris, pp 39–40
Boutellis A, Mahmoud Y (2017) Investing in peace to prevent violent extremism in the Sahel-Sahara region. J Peacebuild Dev 12(2):80
Cohen HJ (2013) Al Qaeda in Africa: the creeping menace to sub-Sahara’s 500 million Muslims. Am Foreign Policy Interests 35(2):63–69
Conflict Armament Research (2016) Investigating cross-border weapon transfers in the Sahel. http://www.conflictarm.com/download-file/?report_id=2433&file_id=2434. Accessed on 16 Aug 2017
Elhag A (2013) The Toyota land cruiser and its role in spreading terror among African civilians: field observations. World Peace Foundation at https://sites.tufts.edu/reinventingpeace/2013/06/22/toyota-land-cruiser-and-terror/. Accessed on 8 June 2018
Gaffey C (2016) Who is Iyad Ag Ghaly, Mali’s Veteran Jihadi? Newsweek, 29 June. Web. 01 Aug.
Hansen SJ (2013) Al-Shabaab in Somalia: the history and ideology of a militant Islamist group, 2005–2012. Oxford University Press, New York, pp 24–26
Hassan H (2015) Transformations of Islamic discourse in Africa. Al Ahram Center for Translation and Publishing, Cairo
Hassan H (2016) Islamic state and the transformation of Islamic discourse in the Middle East. J Middle East Islam Stud (in Asia) 10(4):1–19
ICG (2017). https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/west-africa/mali/forced-out-towns-sahel-africas-jihadists-go-rural. Accessed on 7 June 2018
IGAD Security Sector Program (ISSP) and Sahan Foundation, Al-Shabaab as a Transnational Security Threat March 2016 at https://igadssp.org/index.php/documentation/4-igad-report-al-shabaab-as-a-transnational-security-threat/file. Accessed on 28 Feb, 2019
Kaplan S (2015) He’s been called ‘uncatchable,’ the ‘pirate king’ and the ‘one-eyed’ jihadist. Can they now call him dead? Authorities hope they’ve finally killed notorious jihadist mokhtar belmokhtar. WP Company LLC d/b/a The Washington Post, Washington, DC
Korteweg R (2014) Treacherous sands: the EU and terrorism in the broader Sahel. European View 13(2):251–258
Launay R, Soares BF (1999) The formation of an ‘Islamic sphere’ in French colonial West Africa. Econ Soc 28(4):497–519
Loimeier R (2007) Sufis and politcs in sub-saharan Africa. In: H. Paul (ed.) Sufism and politics: the politics of spirituality princeton. Weiner Publishing, Markus pp 59–101
Loimeier R (2011) Islamic reform and political change in northern Nigeria. Northwestern University Press
Marret J (2008) Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb: a “Glocal” organization. Stud Conflict Terrorism 31(6):541–552
Nicoll A, Delaney J (2012) Extremism spreads across West Africa and the Sahel. Strateg Comments 18(8):1–3
Onuoha FC (2016) Split in ISIS-Aligned Boko Haram Group at http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:-VMtmUEhCZAJ:studies.aljazeera.net/en/reports/2016/10/split-isis-aligned-boko-haram-group-161027113247008.html+&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ae&client=firefox-b. Accessed on 8 July 2017
Pawlak P (2015) Cybersecurity: jihadism and the internet. European Parliamentary Research Service, Brussels
Retaillé D, Walther O (2011) Spaces of uncertainty: a model of mobile space in the Sahel. Singap J Trop Geogr 32:85–101
Roggio B (2010) Al-Qaeda leaders play significant role in Shabaab. Long War J. http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2010/08/al_qaeda_leaders_pla.php. Accessed on 17 Aug 2017
Varhola LR, Sheperd TE (2013) Africa and the United States – a military perspective. Am Foreign Policy Interests 35(6):325–332
Varin C & Abubakar D (2017) Violent non-state actors in Africa: terrorists, rebels and warlords. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Zimmerman K (2013) The al Qaeda Network: a new framework for defining the enemy. AEI’s Critical Threats Project. https://www.criticalthreats.org/analysis/the-al-qaeda-network-a-new-framework-for-defining-the-enemy. Accessed on 8 Aug 2017
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this entry
Cite this entry
Hassan, H. (2019). The Making of a Mobile Caliphate State in the African Sahel. In: Ratuva, S. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Ethnicity. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2898-5_158
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2898-5_158
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-13-2897-8
Online ISBN: 978-981-13-2898-5
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences