Boko Haram and the Fear of Islamic Extremism in Cameroon: Part 1 – Boko Haram’s Cameroon Connection

By Dibussi Tande

“Biya was concerned about the threat of Islamic extremism.… He was beginning to worry about Islamic extremists infiltrating Cameroon from Nigeria and making inroads through Cameroonian mosques.” Wikileaks

The wave of Christmas Day bombings in Nigeria carried out by Boko Haram, the extremist Islamist sect which has its base in northeastern Nigeria, has once again raised the specter of religious extremism gaining a foothold in Cameroon.

In fact, long before the Christmas Day bombings, Cameroonian political and religious authorities had began to publicly express their fears of a Boko Haram infiltration of Northern Cameroon, and the spread of its extremist, intolerant and violent ideology to cities as far south as Douala, Cameroon’s economic capital (in the Christian South), which has paradoxically been described as “the most important center of Islamic effervescence in Cameroon” (2), and a “fertile ground for the development of proselytism through a subtle process of grassroots Islamization.”(8) (See When the Periphery becomes the Center: New Islamic Dynamics in Douala-Cameroon by Gilbert L. Taguem Fah).

So what links, if any, exist concretely between Boko Haram and the Cameroonian Muslim community? Are the conditions that gave rise to the sect in Nigeria also present in Cameroon? Can the dominant brand of Islam practiced in Cameroon withstand the influence of Islamic extremism? Or, is Cameroon already fertile ground for the rise of extremist Islamic groups similar to Nigeria’s Boko Haram or the Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) which operates in the Sahel countries (Mali, Niger, Mauritania)? To answer these questions, we must start with a quick look at Boko Haram and its ideology

Introducing Boko Haram
The origins of Boko Haram and the conditions that made Northern Nigeria susceptible to this brand of Islam, which is violently opposed to the modern state and its institutions, and seeks to establish an Islamic state governed by Sharia, are well documented elsewhere. According to Nigerian scholar N. D. Danjibo [Islamic Fundamentalism and Sectarian Violence: The “Maitatsine” and “Boko Haram” Crises in Northern Nigeria],

“The ideology and philosophy of the movement can best be understood by explicating the two words- “Boko” and “Haram”. In Hausa language, the word “boko” is an equivocal term which means either “Western” or foreign; while the word “haram” is an Arabic derivative meaning “forbidden”. Piecing the two words together, ‘boko haram’ means to forbid everything Western and Western education. The intent is to replace modern state formation with the traditional Islamic state, because Western values run contrary to Islamic values. Umma Mahammadiya (Muslim faithful) and Dar-ul-Islam (Islamic community) cannot be compromised in the face of Western influence. Evil in the society is as a result of the embrace of Western civilization, and in order to curb such evil an Islamic society must be entrenched by destroying modern state institutions. The philosophy goes hand in hand with the entrenchment of the Shari’a law in the society. This accounts for the reason why police formations and government establishments and properties became the target of destruction by the sect." (7)

A distinguishing – and disturbing - element of Boko Haram’s evolution (at least for neighboring countries, particularly Cameroon), is its identification with the current global Jihadist struggle, manifested in an evolution in its rhetoric, and its links to Al-Queda, al-Shabab in Somalia and AQIM, which announced last year that it would support Boko Haram with weapons and training. This has led to fears of a Boko Haram “infiltration” into Cameroon, or of a Boko Haram-inspired homegrown radical Islamic movement.

Boko Haram’s Cameroon Connection
So what exactly is Boko Haram’s connection to Cameroon at the moment? According to Nigerian security officials, the sect uses Northern Cameroon both as a staging ground for its attacks and as a source for weapons. For example, in February 2011, the police in Borno unearthed a cache of arms (AK 47 rifles, pistols, rocket launchers, RPG Bombs, detonating bomb cables) which had supposedly been smuggled from Cameroon. 

And, following the Christmas Day attack, Nigeria declared a State of Emergency in Northern Nigeria, and closed Nigeria’s porous border with Northern Cameroon.

Equally significant, is the fact that many Boko Haram foot soldiers are from Cameroon. According to one report:

"In June this year, the Shehu of Borno State accused aliens from Chad and Cameroon of masterminding of Boko Haram attacks that left several people dead.  A month later, 36 nationals including Chadians and Cameroonians were identified among those killed in a gun battle between police and suspected Boko Haram activists. Earlier this month, 43 Cameroonians, suspected of belonging to the group were expelled."

Sheik Ibrahim Mbombo Mubarak, Imam at the Central Mosque in Douala and the President of the Association of Cameroonian Imams, confirms the involvement of Cameroonians in Boko Haram, and recently claimed “that some prominent members of the group, including Mohammad Nour and Mohamed Kahirou are Cameroonians who actually grew up in Douala and have since returned following the ongoing crackdown against the sect in Nigeria.”

The involvement of Cameroonians in Nigerian Muslim fundamentalist groups is not a new phenomenon. The most notable case is that of Al Hadji Mohammed Marwa (also known as "Maitatsine") an Islamic scholar from the Northern Cameroon town of Marwa, who was the founder of the Maitatsine” sect. The sect was behind the Great Kano Massacre of December 1980 which left over 4,000 dead, including Marwa himself. The Maitatsine sect is generally considered the precursor to Boko Haram because of its penchant for violence and murder, and its anti-establishment and anti-Western philosophy (See Islamic Fundamentalism and Sectarian Violence: The “Maitatsine” and “Boko Haram” Crises in Northern Nigeria):

[Marwa] believed that Islam had been corrupted by modernization (Westernization) and the formation of the modern state.

He was opposed to most aspects of modernization and to all Western influence. He decried such technological commonplace as radios, wrist watches, automobiles, motorcycles, and even bicycles. Those who use these things or who read books other than the Qur’an were viewed as hell-bound ‘pagans’.”

Cameroonian Fears of Boko Haram Infiltration

What is most worrying to Cameroonian political and religious authorities, however, is not the fact that some Cameroonian Muslims may be actively involved in the activities of Boko Haram in Nigeria. Their main concern is that Boko Haram members have infiltrated Cameroon’s Muslim community, and are spreading the group’s extremist message within that community and winning converts who may eventually plunge Cameroon into sectarian mayhem similar to Nigeria’s. In February 2010, for example, President Biya expressed his fears to former US ambassador Janet Garvey:

“Biya was concerned about the threat of Islamic extremism.… He was beginning to worry about Islamic extremists infiltrating Cameroon from Nigeria and making inroads through Cameroonian mosques… His concerns about Islamic extremism echoed similar concerns we have been recently picking up in the north and among our moderate Muslim contacts, who worry about dangerous influences both from Nigeria and Iran.”

Marafa Hamidou Yaya, the former Minister of Territorial Administration (Interior) also expressed similar fears in another meeting with the US ambassador:

“Marafa was very concerned about Islamic extremism in Nigeria and Cameroon. There were a lot of desperate people among the Muslim communities in the north and Douala, in particular, and some of them had unexplained money. The GRC didn't have enough means to monitor the situation, he worried.”

These fears have been amplified in recent months by Muslim traditional rulers and clerics such as Alim Garga Hayatou, the Lamido of Garoua, who in August 2011 warned the faithful to guard against “foreign influence”, and urged them to stick to "basic Islam" and steer clear of alien doctrines which have nothing to do with their religion.  "We understand our Islam and we don't need those who think they understand this religion better than us," he added.

Still in August, 2011, Sheikh Ibrahim Mbombo Mubarak revealed that Boko Haram already had a foothold in the country:

 “I make this claim based on clear indicators. The administration has been served several indices which have confirmed that these people are in Cameroon and are even propagating their doctrine in various chapels and mosques. There are other indicators like CDs which carry their ideology and are being distributed across the national territory.”

Early in December 2011, Bernard Okalia Bilaï, the Senior Divisional Officer for Wouri Division, met with Imams in Douala to discuss strategies to counter the spread of Boko Haram ideology in Cameroon’s economic capital:

“We have been informed of attempts of Boko Haram infiltration. Their doctrine is anti-social as it condemns western education. It’s a doctrine that persuades young graduates to rip their degrees because it’s satanic. It’s a doctrine that condemns what today constitutes the values of our society and top authorities of the country don’t accept that such hateful dogma is established in our communities, and thus the necessity of this meeting. We must be vigilant.”

During a meeting on December 29, 2011 between President Biya and President Idriss Deby of Chad, the main item on the agenda was the question of staving off Boko Haram’s influence in these two countries which share a common border with Northeastern Nigeria.

And most recently, in January 2012, media reports in Cameroon identified the Northern town of Lagdo (southeast of Garoua) as the new base for Boko Haram activities in Cameroon, from where its members go from village to village proselytizing, setting up branches and distributing huge sums of money to those who agree to adhere to their extremist ideology.

So, is the increasing concern and near panic over a potential or even ongoing Boko Haram spillover into Cameroon justified, or is this fear simply overblown? To begin to answer this question, one must first understand the similarities and differences between the type(s) of Islam practiced in Cameroon and Nigeria, the evolution of Islam in Cameroon, along with the receptiveness (or lack thereof) of traditional Cameroonian Islam to Islamic fundamentalist teachings.

To be continued...

Next: Part 2 - The Changing Face of Islam in Cameroon…

Comments

[Arrey]

Wow interesting. Always thought of this BH issue as "their" problem, but if the fears of the Cameroonian political and religious authorities is anything to go by, the "we" have to pay more attention at what is happening in Northern Cameroon. One doesn't need an army of 10,000 to inflict severe damage. Looking forward to Part 2.

[shedu]

While I understand they fears of Cameroonian authorities, I believe they should pay closer attention to home-grown Cameroonian muslim fundamentalists such as the ones who in the 1990s and 2000s used to cause lots of violence in Foumban and elsewhere. They are still very much around and bidding their time...

[Mallam]

10 Suspected Boko Haram Militants Arrested in Maroua
Tuesday, January 10, 2012

By Divine Ntaryike Jr with Field Reports

(Cameroonpostline.com) -- A flurry of reports emanating from Cameroon’s administrative Far North region suggest that after months of indecision, the authorities have formally begun apprehending and incarcerating persons with suspected links to the Nigerian terror group, the Boko Haram.

The hypothesis is bolstered by news of the recent capture and detention of 10 presumed Boko Haram militants by security forces at a locality called Dabanga, some 70 km east of Kousseri. Abakachi Alifa, a reporter with the regional newspaper, L’Oeil du Sahel confirmed late Monday in a phone interview that the suspects were rounded up since January 2.

“The men told gendarmes they were Sunnite preachers, and that they were returning to their base in Kousseri from the ‘DaawaIslamiya’ Quran instruction center in the regional capital Maroua. They said they had gone there for a spiritual retreat. According to them, it is in their religious tradition to trek back home and seize the occasion to preach the word of Allah in villages they pass through,” Alifa recounted.

But following a tip off, administrative authorities in the Logone and Chari division, where the “DaawaIslamiya” institute is based immediately ordered their arrest. Our sources indicate that the Divisional Officer, Ernest Ewango Babou personally interrogated the suspects, who straightaway denied any links with the Boko Haram.

But unconvinced, the administrator ordered that the suspects be conveyed to his superiors in the regional capital Maroua. He instructed four elements from the Kousseri Territorial Gendarmerie Brigade to use a pick-up van belonging to the Logone and Chari Divisional Delegation of Forestry and Wildlife to transport the suspects.

Jean Areguema, another reporter with L’Oeil du Sahel, adds that once they arrived in Maroua on January 3, the Governor of the Far North region ordered their incommunicado detention at a mosque in the Domayo neighborhood. They were denied visits by relatives and all forms of contact with the outside world. Relations of the suspects say they now believe the men have been moved to a secret location.

“My father went to look for my brother who is believed be to among those arrested, but he has not been able to trace where they are being held,” Abakar Kalia, a fraught-looking relative of one the nabbed men complained at the weekend and about a week after the arrests were made.

“The Lamido as well as the Imam of the Maroua Central Mosque have been working hard for them to be released, but no one knows where they are presently. I cannot return to Kousseri without pertinent information on what may have happened to my brother,” he added.

Meantime, two of the four gendarme officers who escorted the suspected Boko Haram preachers to Maroua were killed upon return to Kousseri on January 4. Reports indicate they were involved in a gory accident on the fringes of the Waza National Park. While the circumstances of their demise remain unclear, it is hoped that the two other survivors will provide details of how the accident occurred when they emerge from their critical conditions.

The arrests come hard on the heels of a December 31 decision by the Nigerian government to temporarily shut down its land boundaries with Cameroon, Chad and Niger as a means of impeding cross-border activities by militants of the radical Islamic terrorist group. Ever since, intelligence officers in the Far North Region have stepped up surveillance of Islamic learning centers, grilling teachers and preachers alike and shutting down several institutions.

Authorities in the North Region have meantime announced the uncovering of a Bokom Haram hideout at Lagdo. The declarations come amid growing insinuation by observers that Cameroonian authorities were dragging their feet in sincerely collaborating to quash the radical sect and its militants, who are increasingly seeking refuge in the country’s northern parts, following harsh clampdowns on them in northeastern Nigeria.

[Le Jour]

600 militaires déployés à Mora

Menace Boko Haram. Ils patrouillent dans cette localité de l’Extrême-Nord et surveillent les entrées frontalières avec les villages nigérians.

C’est par petits groupes que des militaires du 32ème bataillon d’infanterie motorisé de Mora, appuyés par ceux du 4ème secteur militaire de l’Extrême-Nord, patrouillent dans les quartiers de Mora depuis mardi dernier. Hier, une autre vague de militaires a débarqué dans la localité d’Amchidé.

Selon des informations recueillies auprès des autorités administratives et militaires de la région de l’Extrême-Nord, il s’agit de « mesures dissuasives » face à la menace Boko Haram qui plane dans cette partie du Cameroun. Les militaires qui ont été déployés ont pour mission de recueillir des renseignements auprès de la population et de surveiller les entrées et sorties des personnes et des biens. Une source à la préfecture de Mora ajoute que ce déploiement est effectué en prévision d’un possible flux migratoire des populations de l’Etat de Borno, fief de la secte Boko Haram.

Mardi soir, trois des dix personnes interpellées par la gendarmerie à Dabanga, le 4 janvier dernier, ont été libérées. Les autres, soupçonnés d’être en contact avec la secte Boko Haram, sont maintenus en garde à vue. Selon un officier supérieur de la gendarmerie en service à Maroua, des ordinateurs portables et des numéros de téléphone qui portent l’indicatif du Nigeria, ont été trouvés dans la liste des appels de leurs appareils téléphoniques.

Pour Cheik Daoud, l’un des suspects libéré, les autorités administratives font de l’acharnement contre les membres des organisations islamiques. Selon cet islamiste, à force d’harceler les musulmans et autres prédicateurs, les autorités et responsables des services de renseignements risquent de créer la panique et la confusion au sein de la population.

Adolarc Lamissia

http://www.quotidienlejour.com/divers-du-jour-/actualites-/8613-600-militaires-deployes-a-mora

[Dwinox]

I really do believe that there is no way we can stop the Islamic uprising, they have started the works of the Anti Christ movement as described in the Holy Bible this will certainly end up at the end of the world. their doctrines are very contagious and was accepted, can never be rejected again. they are getting hold of two classes of people, one is the uneducated and the other is those leaving in abject poverty.behind this is the world's invisible and spiritual government preparing the way for anti Christ to come in

[Hope Kale Ewusi]

Your brilliant expose sheds light on a phenomenon that has been ongoing in divers forms -stemming from the clash of civilizations counched in Western colonization of Africa along with Islamic infiltration - both steeped in antiquity . Boko Haram's emergence however miss guided their tactics & aspirations, is rooted in the same context of protest against alien influences which Chinua Achebe's celebrated novel deplores in leterary terms.Lest we forget, many African nations recently celebrated 50 years of independence from the West, - an independence which was bloodily contested and finally attained through valiant sacrifice of our forebears.With Western colonization came Christian values, while Arabic infiltration introduced Islam.Both faiths - inherently alien, albeit, have a lasting stranglehold in African religious conscience.. Beneath the Boko Haram mayhem lies the plight of a people ( African) striped-up perhaps or more aptly put a people devoid of robust native values that can thwart foreign influences ( socio-political / cultural ), while imposing in return strong contrarian currents capable of influencing alien detractors by force of will.While radicalized Islam proselytizes through mayhem, Western evangelism imposes its values through subtle indoctrination and the net effect in both instances basically has been the devaluation & dilution Afro- autochtonic values. Similar responses to perceived cultural encroachment belied the mayhem that terrorized the Swedish capital last year. The foregoing though limited in deference to brevity, underscores the global scope of radical contestation.Thus as the specter of radical Islamism creeps into our national turf, it is prudent to take precautionary measures to stem its spread, while at the same time examine the underlying factors that prompts the proliferation of extremist fervor.

[Njuakeh Joseph Ngong]

Please Cameroon is not a place to terrorize with religious on educational practices .we are all educated and love to live in peace both Muslims and Christians. The problem with boko and Nigeria is illiteracy, if they claim they are fighting for God then we know that they are hypocrites’ and they know nothing about God, for God is not a killer but he love and he has given love to all Cameroonians both Christians and Muslims,so boko go to Hell we love our Country and we will face you as a people.

[Beagle Eagle]

Frankly, I doubt that I really feel alarmed at this turn of events. All too often, Cameroon act like they have a uniquely Cameroonian panacea for their problems which are manifestly regional in scope.

Apart from the regional security organisation -GULF OF GIUINEA GUARD COMMAND which groups together Nigeria, Cameroon, Equato-Guinea, Sao Tome, Gabon, the Congos and Angola which is still in its formative stage, the Chad Basin Commission which groups together Nigeria, Chad,Niger,Cameroon and the Central African Republic appears to be the only other platform which Nigeria and Cameroon jointly belong to.

Cameroon, even after the resolution of the Bakassi Conflict have yet to sign up for membership of the Multinational Joint Task Force on the Lake Chad which groups together Nigeria, Chad and Cameroon and which has been in existence since the 1990s as a joint security effort aimed at curbing the excesses of marauding gangs of Chadian guerrillas who earn their keep by engaging in acts of banditry. Well, Boko Haram have since been added to the list of the MJTF’s headaches.

After the August 2011 UN House bombing, a group of countries which are blighted by terrorism came together in Algeria to form the Global Counterterrorism Forum. Mali, Niger, Chad, Algeria and Nigeria where AQIM and/or Boko Haram are active all signed up for it. Not so for Cameroon.

Perhaps it is the same Napoleonic complex which is getting in the way yet again but Cameroon need to realise that almost any security issues in the eastern flank of Nigeria, inevitably has implications for Cameroon.

Indeed, both countries share a 1,900 kilometre frontier stretching from the Atlantic coast in the Gulf of Guinea to the south and on to the sahelian frontier on the Lake Chad/El Beid River axis in the Far North. Both countries, unique for containing every vegetational belt in Africa and for the babelian heterogeneity, have over fifty ethnic groups common to them.

Yet, Cameroon always appear to toe the insular line. Well, these are not Corpeurs des Routes(bandits) whose activities necessitated the formation of that country’s Rapid Intervention Battalion (“BIR” by its French acronym). These are Boko Haram and they were always going to seek to initiate their kinsmen in Cameroon into the fold.

Far to the south in the Gulf of Guinea, we similarly saw how the technical expertise and support of Niger Delta militants quickly spawned insurgent groups populated by Nigerian-born residents of Cameroon’s Bakassi Peninsula, most of whom are of Niger Delta extraction.

Indeed, that was how insurgent groups which are active in the Bakassi Peninsula such as the Bakassi Freedom Fighters and Africa Marine Commando came into existence. From that unsavory template, Cameroon came away with no lessons. They are after all an “unaffected” island unto themselves.

[Bokowatch]

Cameroonian Among Women Captured During Kano JTF Raid

Posted by News Updates on May 2, 2012 at 1:42am in Nigeria Crime News
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Published on May 1, 2012 by pmnews

A Cameroonian, Fatima Mohammed was among two women captured by men of the Kano Joint Task Force, JTF, when they carried out a raid at a Boko Haram hideout in Bubugaje area of Sharada Phase 111, Kano Northwest Nigeria, this morning.

During the raid on a thre-bedroom flat located at an isolated axis of the area, Fatima, Habibu Abubakar, a pregnant woman form Maiduguri and a little child were rescued by members of the JTF, before gunning down their husband suspected to be the mastermind of last Sunday’s attack on a Catholic church at Bayero University Kano, BUK, during which at least 20 people, including two Professors were killed.

Security sources said the rescued women were being questioned to get more clues on the hideouts of the remnants of the Boko Haram sect residing within the area termed as one of the major dens of the Islamic fundamentalists who have launched deadly attacks on Kano since 20 January this year.

During the January incident, over 200 people lost their lives in the sect’s most coordinated attacks on the state and security agencies.

According to residents of Bubugaje, the slain Boko Haram member whose name is yet to be known came into the area about two months ago.

“He did not communicate with anybody. He does his things his own way. We see him leave the house on a motorbike and he has no friend within the neighbourhood,” said a resident.

A security chief told P.M.NEWS that the successful attack carried out by the JTF in the early hours of today followed some useful information received from members of the public.

It was also learnt that following the identification of Fatima as a Cameroonian, directives have been issued from Abuja to intensify security at all the border towns in northern Nigeria while intelligence officers have been deployed in all spots identified as hideouts of members of the Islamic sect in Kano and other parts of the North.

The Bubugaje raid was supervised by Director of State Security Service, SSS, Commander 3 Brigade, Nigeria Army, Kano and the state Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Idris, who said the JTF recovered AK 47 rifle, 35 knives, 6 high calibre remote control Improvised Explosive Devices, laptops, 458 rounds of live ammunition, a bank deposit slip and Islamic leaflets.

According to the Commander of the 3 Brigade of the Nigerian Army kano, Brigadier General Isa Abbah the raided building looks like a bomb factory, adding that the three-hour raid was another major breakthrough by the JTF.

Read more:http://www.gbooza.com/page.html#ixzz456 http://www.gbooza.com/group/crime/forum/topics/cameroonian-among-women-captured-during-kano-jtf-raid#ixzz1tpTsGdHA

http://www.gbooza.com/group/crime/forum/topics/cameroonian-among-women-captured-during-kano-jtf-raid#axzz1sRtR1cP2

[matute manga]

why should an activist like MARWA of the 1970 maitasine sect claim that people who use things like motorcycles cars and other western product are pagans whereas in the middle east were it is the strong hole of orthodox Muslims the big people there used those thing. a place Dubai,Saudi Arabia.

[Amanda]

These terrorist wants to enter another man's country, very bad. May God protect the people of Cameroon