bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Returning to the Qur’ān and Sunna:
Authors: Mamman Nur Muhammad , Yusuf Muhammad
Published: February 2019

(15 MARCH 2009)

[Trans.: Abdulbasit Kassim]

Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUot3BrT0FE

Just three months prior to the July 2009 uprising the violent rhetoric of the circle around Yusuf has grown exponentially. Mamman Nur’s talk is especially filled with incitement and threats—one suspects that he went first to channel the anger of the group. This anger was apparently brought on, as Yusuf says in his later address, by the rumor that one of the members of the group had been killed and his body dumped in Gwange Cemetery in Maiduguri. Although this rumor turned out to be false, it seems clear even before the 26 July 2009 uprising that elements of Boko Haram were spoiling for a fight with the Nigerian security forces. Probably Yusuf’s more moderate follow-up address was supposed to calm the situation somewhat after Nur’s more fiery address...
Statement of Sani Umaru
Authors: Cook David
Published: February 2019

(9 AUGUST 2009)

This statement was the first sign that Boko Haram did not actually disappear with the murder of Muhammad Yusuf. However, Sani Umaru did not remain the leader of the group for very long, and it took several years for the threats listed in this missive to become a reality. The continuity of language and enemies with the pre-July 2009 Boko Haram materials is obvious. For the first time, however, the group begins aligning itself with al-Qaeda (point no. 2) and protesting the name accorded to it by the wider world. It is significant that in Umaru’s statement this alignment with al-Qaeda and protest takes precedence even over the veneration of Yusuf (point no. 3)...
Documents From Advice and Shari‘I Instruction
Authors: Cook David
Published: February 2019

(RELEASED 13 APRIL 2017)

[Trans. David Cook]

Available at: https://azelin.files.wordpress.com/2017/04/shaykh-abucc8wal-hcca3asan-rashicc84d-22sharicc84ah-advice-and-guidance-for-the-mujacc84hidicc84n-of-nigeria22.pdf

This group of documents is associated with Abu al-Hasan Rashid al-Bulaydi, the shari‘a advisor for al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), and details the close relations between Boko Haram and al-Qaeda affiliates that date to the period of the July 2009 uprising, if not before. However, the most interesting documents are not the lengthy exposition by al-Rashid to Boko Haram concerning the relationship between Islamic legal principles and combat (dated 18 October 2011), but the letters indicating the close relations between AQIM and Boko Haram during this early period. Why precisely this document cache was released in April 2017 is something of a mystery, as the latest document in the trove is from 2011. However, when one considers the now public nature of the internal Boko Haram disagreements over how to treat Muslims and apply the...
Declaration of War Against Christians and Western Education
Authors: Shekau Abubakar
Published: February 2019

(c. JULY 2010)

[Trans.: Abdulbasit Kassim]

Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Okrm2ZryK90

This video is undated, but judging from its quality of production and contents, restating some of the themes in texts 7 and 14, the extra-judicial killing of Boko Haram members, allegation of the collaboration between the Izala scholars and the government—a common early theme in the aftermath of the 2009 conflict—and mentioning the arrests of Muslims because of the World Cup event (which presumably is the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa), it should be dated to July 2010. In this video, Shekau reiterated the ideology of the group and its declaration of war against the Christians, Western education and secular constitution as well as the goal of establishing...
Message of Condolence to the Mujāhidin
Authors: Shekau Abubakar
Published: February 2019

(12 JULY 2010)

[Trans.: David Cook]

Available at: http://jihadology.net/2010/07/12/new-message-from-the-leader-of-buku-boko-%E1%B8%A5aram-in-nigeria-risalat-taaziyyah/

Following the 1 February 2010 announcement of support, training and provision of weapons to Boko Haram by the leader of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) Abu Mus’ab ‘Abd Wadud,1
al-Andalus media produced a video on April 23, 2010 titled “The Raid of al-Damous”...
Leaflet From the Bauchi Prison Break1
Authors: Cook David
Published: February 2019

(7 SEPTEMBER 2010)

On 7 September 2010 (28 Ramadan, during the traditional period of Laylat al-Qadr (cf. Qur’ān 97)), which was also the same day that the 2011 election was announced), there was an attack on the Bauchi Federal Prison by approximately fifty members of Boko Haram. 721 prisoners were set free, among whom were approximately 150 Boko Haram members. Two leaflets were distributed by the group on that day. The first leaflet was a small paper which just mentioned that the real name of the group was not Boko Haram, but JASDJ. This translated text is the second leaflet, and the event constitutes the group’s second birth. The sophistication of the attack evinced the likelihood of transnational support from other jihadist groups mainly in the Sahelian-Sahara region, where several key members of Boko Haram had migrated in the aftermath of July 2009...
A Letter to Osama Bin Laden’S Deputy
Authors: Shekau Abubakar
Published: February 2019

(c. FALL 2010)

[Trans.: David Cook]

Available at: https://www.dni.gov/files/documents/ubl2016/arabic/Arabic%20Praise%20be%20to%20God%20the%20Lord%20of%20all%20worlds.pdf

This undated letter is probably from late 2010 or early 2011, prior to Osama b. Laden’s death on 2 May 2011 at the hands of U.S. forces in Pakistan. Most of the letter’s contents are requests for Islamic advice, and are not translated here. There has been some commentary on the significance of the letter; its pleading tone and absence of self-confidence indicates a leader (Shekau) who has not yet decided what to do with Boko Haram. Notwithstanding, this letter evinced the early transmutation of Boko Haram from a local group into a transnational actor and its gradual co-optation into the al-Qaeda jihadi universe via the middlemen from the Sahelian-Sahara region...
We are Coming to Get You, Jonathan!
Authors: Shekau Abubakar
Published: February 2019

(12 APRIL 2012)

[Trans.: Abdulbasit Kassim]

Available at: https://videos.files.wordpress.com/ebCevT2X/boko-haram_s-jamc481_at-ahl-al-sunnah-li-da_wah-wa-l-jihc481d-amc4abr-imc481m-abc5ab-bakr-shekau-22we-are-coming-to-get-you-jonathan22_std.mp4

In a bid to redeem the image of Nigeria, President Jonathan, while in South Korea, gave an interview on 27 March 2012, where he assured the international community that his government would defeat Boko Haram by the middle of the year...
Message to the World
Authors: Shekau Abubakar
Published: February 2019

(1 OCTOBER 2012)

[Trans.: Abdulbasit Kassim]

Available at: https://videos.files.wordpress.com/DBYgNcIP/imc481m-abc5ab-bakr-shekau-22a-message-to-the-world22_std.mp4

In this video, Shekau delivered three concise messages to the government. He reiterated the group’s commitment to retribution against blasphemy of the Prophet Muhammad. He also threatened to attack the wives of Nigerian security officials because of the arrests of the Boko Haram members’ wives, and finally, he denied any negotiations or signing of a peace treaty with the government. It is important to mention that before this video, Shekau had previously delivered a 30-minute video on 5 August 2012 (this video could no longer be accessed), in which he reiterated a similar message that his group would not negotiate with the government, and demanded that the Nigerian president convert to Islam...
Clarification of the False Report on Negotiations With the Nigerian Government1
Authors: Shekau Abubakar
Published: February 2019

(c. NOVEMBER 2012)

[Trans.: Abdulbasit Kassim]

Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQumMx6mfK4

Following the scuttled peace talks between Boko Haram and the Nigerian government, which were facilitated by Dr. Datti Ahmed2
in March 2012, the consistent rebuttal of media reports on negotiations between Boko Haram and the government became a recurring phenomenon. Prior to this video, Boko Haram’s purported spokesman Abu Qaqa on 7 June 2012 debunked media reports associated with Shaykh Dahiru Bauchi that he was moderating such a dialogue...
Sermon for ‘Id Al-Aḍḥā 1434/2013
Authors: Al-Ansari Abu Usama
Published: February 2019

(14 NOVEMBER 2013)

[Trans.: David Cook]

Available at: https://azelin.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/abc5ab-usc481mah-al-ane1b9a3c481rc4ab-e2809ckhue1b9adbah-e28098c4abd-al-e28098ae1b88de1b8a5c481-for-the-year-1434-he280b3.pdf

It is interesting that Ansaru tended to use more inclusive, revolutionary language, albeit with an obvious Islamic supremacist focus, than does Boko Haram. Only from Ansaru can we find examples of what could be attempts to reach beyond the boundaries of the most literal form of Salafism to other Muslims in their own language, and even to Nigerians as a whole...
Message to the Umma
Authors: Shekau Abubakar
Published: February 2019

(6 MAY 2014)

[Trans.: Abdulbasit Kassim]

Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vm2LdvevMBU

In this video, Shekau cited the theological exegesis for slavery in Islam to justify the Chibok girls’ kidnapping, and as a rejoinder to clerics who opposed his group. Using the classic rhetoric of George Bush, “you are either with us or you are with them,” Shekau also laid out the doctrine of...
Message About the Chibok Girls
Authors: Shekau Abubakar
Published: February 2019

(12 MAY 2014)

[Trans.: Abdulbasit Kassim]

Available at: http://jihadology.net/2014/05/12/new-video-message-from-boko-%e1%b8%a5arams-jamaat-ahl-al-sunnah-li-dawah-wa-l-jihad-shaykh-abu-bakr-shekau-message-about-the-girls/

On 14 April 2014, Boko Haram kidnapped 276 girls from the Government Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State. Fifty-seven of the schoolgirls managed to escape soon after their abudction and another girl, Amina Ali Nkeki, escaped on 17 May 2016 after two years in captivity. Negotiations between the Nigerian government and Boko Haram brokered by the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Swiss government led to the release of twenty-one girls on 12 October 2016. Another Chibok girl, Maryam Ali Maiyanga, escaped on 5 November 2016 while another batch of eighty-two Chibok girls were released on 6 May 2017 following intense negotiations led by barrister Mustapha Zanna and the intervention of the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Swiss government. The Zanna-led negotiation involved the swapping of five Boko Haram prisoners and the payment of an undisclosed amount to Boko Haram...
Message to the Emir of Kano
Authors: Shekau Abubakar
Published: February 2019

(15 DECEMBER 2014)

[Trans.: Abdulbasit Kassim]

Following the 28 November 2014 attack on Kano Central Mosque where more than 120 people died, the Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, urged the religious and community leaders to defend themselves in whatever way possible against Boko Haram. Sanusi also urged the residents of Kano, hunters and vigilantes, to arm and defend themselves against Boko Haram. In this video, Shekau did not claim responsibility for the Kano attack, but he condemned Sanusi as well as the followers of Islamic groups, whom he described as unbelievers straying away from Islam. Shekau said they should repent and practice Islam as understood by his group or face the consequences. This threat from Shekau is possibly what led to the suicide bombing against the Shi‘a Muslims on 3 November 2014 during their procession marking the Day of Ashura...
Message to the World on Baga
Authors: Shekau Abubakar
Published: February 2019

(21 JANUARY 2015)

[Trans.: Abdulbasit Kassim]

Available at: http://jihadology.net/2015/01/21/new-video-message-from-boko-%e1%b8%a5arams-jamaat-ahl-al-sunnah-li-dawah-wa-l-jihad-imam-abu-bakr-shekau-message-to-the-world-on-baga/

This video is a follow-up to text 50. In it Shekau touted the success of the group in the raid on Baga and Doron Baga, and reiterated some of the key themes in its belief system. The inhabitants of these towns were almost all Muslims. In addition, Shekau chided the leaders of Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon for calling for international support against Boko Haram. This video marks the first public display of Nigeria’s national flag being burned by Boko Haram. While reading a speech broadcast in French on Radio France, Shekau also stated that the French government is hostile to Islam and the Muslims. Shekau’s spoken French is poor, but comprehensible. He was probably helped by Chadian members of the group. The final scenes of this video, which show a different speaker displaying the weapons the group acquired from the raid on Baga and Doron Baga, are akin to the April 2013 video on the raid on Monguno Barrack...
Application of the Rulings of Islam in the Islamic State in Africa
Authors: Li-L-Da‘Wa Wa-L-Jihād Jamā‘at Ahl Al-Sunna
Published: February 2019

(9 FEBRUARY 2015)

[Trans.: Abdulbasit Kassim]

Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZI2KlHvg9A

In this video, Boko Haram demonstrated the enforcement of its brand of sharī‘a, which ranges from whipping alcohol drinkers, to cutting off the hands thieves, to stoning adulterers to death. The content of this video is akin to another video entitled “Haddi a Cikin Daular Musulunci” (“Implementing Islamic Punishments in the Muslim State”), released on 13 December 2014...
Investigation of the Nigerian Army
Authors: Fi Bilād Al-Sūdān Jamā’at Anṣār Al-Muslimin
Published: February 2019

(10 FEBRUARY 2015)

[Trans.: Abdulbasit Kassim]

Available at: http://jihadology.net/2015/02/10/al-hidayyah-foundation-presents-a-new-video-message-from-jamaat-an%e1%b9%a3ar-al-muslimin-fi-bilad-al-sudan-investigation-of-the-nigerian-army/

This video by Ansaru is aimed at winning the hearts and minds of the Muslim community, and managing the increasing resentment against Boko Haram’s indiscriminate violence. In this video, the group highlighted some of the abuses and human rights violations perpetrated by the Nigerian army, some of which had been documented by Amnesty International...
A Message to the Unbelievers’ Leaders
Authors: Shekau Abubakar
Published: February 2019

(17 FEBRUARY 2015)

[Trans.: Abdulbasit Kassim]

Available at: http://jihadology.net/2015/02/17/al-urwah-al-wuthqa-foundation-presents-a-new-video-message-from-jamaat-ahl-al-sunnah-li-l-dawah-wa-l-jihads-boko-%e1%b8%a5aram-abu-bakr-shekau-a-message-to-the-leader/

This video follows the high point of Boko Haram’s territorial control, and was issued shortly after its second major assault upon the Borno capital of Maiduguri on 1 February 2015. Shekau here threatens the upcoming Nigerian presidential elections, scheduled for 14 February. In the event, they were not held on time, but postponed because of the large territory controlled by Boko Haram. Already, however, the Nigerian army was beginning to roll back Boko Haram by the time this was issued, and had recaptured the town of Monguno, close to Maiduguri. Boko Haram was also overextending itself by attacking Chad overtly for the first time on 13 February. This video is also unique for the fact that it was the first video of Shekau produced under the media agency al-‘Urwa al-Wuthqā, which signaled the unification of Boko Haram’s factions prior to the pledge of allegiance to the Islamic State...
Jumbled Words and Authentication for the Important Period Prior to Shaykh Al-Shekawi’s Allegiance Which Made the Umma Happy
Authors: Al-Hamad Abu Malik Shayba
Published: February 2019

(27 MARCH 2015)

[Trans.: David Cook]

Posted at: https://twitter.com/ifRk23 (suspended)

This document is presented as reminiscences by Abu Malik Shayba al-Hamad (@ shaiba_ha) of the Tunisian-based Anṣār al-Sharī‘a, who claims to have facilitated the union between Boko Haram and ISIS. Hamad appears to have been something of a clearing-house in connection with a wide range of West African and European groups, probably because Tunisia during the period 2011–14 allowed freedom to Salafi-jihadis. The document is placed here out of chronological order because it describes events that occurred in 2014 and early 2015. Only selections of the seven-page document are translated here, as the bulk of it concerns other groups in Africa. Note that it was the capture of the Chibok girls which provoked the admiration of the writer, and made him realize that Boko Haram is a truly jihadi group...
Bay‘a (Oath of Allegiance) to the Caliph of the Muslims
Authors: Shekau Abubakar
Published: February 2019

(7 MARCH 2015)

[Trans.: Abdulbasit Kassim]

Available at: http://jihadology.net/2015/03/07/al-urwah-al-wuthqa-foundation-presents-a-new-audio-message-from-jamaat-ahl-al-sunnah-li-l-dawah-wa-l-jihads-boko-%e1%b8%a5aram-abu-bakr-shekau-bayah-jama/

It had long been anticipated that Boko Haram would swear allegiance to the Islamic State, if only because the former had been mimicking the actions of the latter for months by the spring of 2015 (see text 48). This oath of allegiance made it official, and completed Boko Haram’s adoption into the larger family of Salafi-jihadi groups. An earlier indication of Boko Haram’s adoption into the larger family of Salafi-jihad groups reflected in the mention of Abubakar Shekau alongside Nasir al-Wuhayshi of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and Abu Zubayr of al-Shabab in Somalia in the letter on al-Qaeda/Islamic State rivalry written on 17 August 2014 by Abu ‘Iyad al-Tunisi of Ansar al-Shari’a Tunisia to Ayman az-Zawahiri prior to Boko Haram’s allegiance to the Islamic State. In what appears to be an unprecedented celebration of allegiance by Islamic State’s provinces...
‘Id [Al-Fitri] Prayer and Sermon From Wilāyat Gharb Ifriqiyā
Authors: Cook David
Published: February 2019

(22 JULY 2015)

[Trans.: Abdulbasit Kassim]

Available at: http://jihadology.net/2015/07/22/new-video-message-from-the-islamic-state-id-prayers-and-a-sermon-from-wilayat-gharb-ifriqiyyah/

Another mark of the post-allegiance to ISIS era for Boko Haram is the increased focus upon Islamic devotion. This video consists of three interviews with Boko Haram members whose primary message is to state that the group continues to control its territory and can be considered part of the Islamic State...
Message to the Nigerian Unbelievers
Authors: Shekau Abubakar
Published: February 2019

(19 SEPTEMBER 2015)

[Trans.: Abdulbasit Kassim]

Available at: http://jihadology.net/2015/09/19/new-audio-message-from-the-islamic-states-abu-bakr-al-shekau-message-to-the-infidels-of-nigeria-wilayat-gharb-ifriqiyyah/

The lowered profile of Shekau in the post-allegiance to ISIS period for Boko Haram once again spurred the claim that he had been killed by the Nigerian army. In what can again be called Shekau’s revival, not only did he prove that he was in good health, he also declared that the group’s caliphate was extant and extended his homage to the Islamic State and its provinces. Shekau also dispelled the reports of the Nigerian army that the group had been defeated. While reiterating the belief system of the group, Shekau censured the Izala scholars and dismissed the report that the incarcerated members of the group had embraced revisionist ideas...
Message from Shekau
Authors: Cook David
Published: February 2019

(22 MARCH 2016)

[Trans.: Abdulbasit Kassim]

Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWzhr7dOyrk

After a half-year’s hiatus, Shekau reemerged in a video which was erroneously interpreted by the Nigerian media as a call from him to end the group’s campaign and embrace peace. As the translation below shows, there is nothing in the video that suggests surrender or an end to the violence. Rather, Shekau was simply acknowledging that he received messages from his followers, while extending greetings to them and encouraging them to be steadfast. There are some reasons to doubt the authenticity of this video. First, unlike other videos of Boko Haram (after it became ISWAP), this video was posted on YouTube. Second, the poor quality of this video stands out amidst the upgrade in Boko Haram’s video quality. This video shares more features with Boko Haram videos from the period 2010–14. Third, Shekau also refers to himself as the leader of JASDJ, a title defunct after the group’s amalgamation with the Islamic State, and Shekau’s becoming emir of Islamic State West African Province. Fourth, the soft-spoken style of Shekau’s delivery in this video is quite different from his bombastic and taunting style in past videos. The doubts surrounding the release of this video were laid to rest when the video was countered almost immediately by another video produced by the media department of ISWAP (see text 70)...
“Investigate”
Authors: Ifriqiyā Wilāyat Gharb
Published: February 2019

(31 MARCH 2016)

[Trans.: Abdulbasit Kassim]

Available at: http://jihadology.net/2016/03/31/new-video-message-from-the-islamic-state-investigate-wilayat-gharb-ifriqiyyah/

This video was released a week after text 69, which was erroneously interpreted as signs of weakness and defeat on ISWAP’s part. In this video, the speaker, making a first-time appearance, spoke of the resilience of the members of his group in the face of the campaign by the coalition forces. He also attempted to disprove the media reports that the group had been defeated, saying this is a false victory proclamation contrary to the reality on the battleground. He further threatened those who fight against the group, and specifically mentioned the Nigerian President Buhari. It is noteworthy that the speaker identified Shekau as the leader of the group, and reaffirmed the group’s allegiance to the Islamic State. This video goes a long way to prove that although the coalition forces might have technically defeated Boko Haram or ISWAP, the group does not see itself as being defeated...
Reaching a Verdict (2008–2009)
Authors: Cook David
Published: February 2019

Part Two of the book provides a detailed account of Boko Haram’s declaration of war on the Nigerian state and the process involved-decisions and actions taken to reach the verdict. The first half of the chapter contains further sermons and teachings by Boko Haram leadership- Muhammad Yusuf, Abubakar Shekau and Muhammad Mamman Nur, that establish the ideological fulcrum for Boko Haram’s insurgency. Some of the central points expressed include Boko Haram’s system of religious belief and the origin and concept of a ‘true Muslim’. Particularly, the chapter presents Boko Haram’s position on Western civilisation that earned it the notorious name- Boko Haram (meaning ‘Western education is sin’). As in part one, this chapter documents the events (but mostly internal ramifications and activities) that will set the stage for the next phase of its Jihad- which represents a dramatic shift from Da’wah (preaching) to insurgency.
Reasons for Attacking Thisday Newspaper by Jamā’At Ahl Al-Sunna Li-L-Da‘Wa Wa-L-Jihād
Authors: Shekau Abubakar
Published: February 2019

(4 MAY 2012)

[Trans.: Abdulbasit Kassim]

Available at: https://videos.files.wordpress.com/SdjA7vo7/boko-haram-jamc481_at-ahl-al-sunnah-li-da_wah-wa-l-jihc481d-22reasons-for-attacking-thisday-newspaper22_std.mp4

On 26 April 2012, Boko Haram carried out one of its long-standing threats—a suicide attack on the office of Thisday newspaper in Abuja, and a car bomb explosion outside a complex housing several newspaper offices, including...
Introduction
Authors: Andrews William L.
Published: February 2019

The introduction explores the concept of privilege as it is discussed in mid-century slave narratives. Slaves were denied constitutional and legal rights accorded to American whites, but privileges—sought or received, earned or negotiated, won or lost—shaped the lives of many mid-century narrators, especially the most famous ones, as their narratives make amply clear. A privilege could bring enhanced material resources, social advantages, or prerogatives that could make an almost unbearable bondage to some degree more tolerable. Access to privileges was a major basis for social distinctions and rankings among the enslaved. Slave narratives indicate that the higher one’s socioeconomic status in slavery, the better one’s chances were of escaping. Most of the sixty-one slave narratives examined in this book came from persons who launched themselves into freedom from positions of relative privilege in the upper echelons of slavery.
Emerging Class Awareness
Authors: Andrews William L.
Published: February 2019

Chapter 1 examines key terms pertaining to socioeconomic distinction, particularly “caste,” “status,” and “class,” as they apply to mid-century narratives. The chapter notes factors that differentiated the enslaved economically as well as socially, among them types of work, kinship, and connections to whites. It explains the importance of class awareness to the slave narrative and differentiates that awareness from standard ideas about class consciousness. Also discussed are commonalities of experience shared by most of the fifty-two African American slave narrators whose life stories are the focus of this book. Concluding the chapter is an overview of discourse involving class critique and social advancement among African Americans as articulated by black writers from David Walker to Martin R. Delany and Frederick Douglass. The widening range of class-inflected ideas expressed in mid-century narratives attests to an emerging class awareness in contemporary essays and journalism, as well as autobiography, by black Americans.
What Is New about the New Silk Road?
Authors: Bianchi Robert R.
Published: February 2019

China’s New Silk Road is far different from earlier routes that were similarly named. It promises to link all of Eurasia and Africa in a single hemispheric market with additional connections to the Arctic Sea and Latin America. It builds upon a historic network of Islamic civilization underpinning modern nations that aspire to become regional powers in their own right. China’s deepening involvement in these countries’ conflicts is also reverberating throughout Chinese society. Inside China, blowback from the New Silk Road is aggravating tensions between religious and ethnic groups and widening splits between rival regions.
Nigeria
Authors: Bianchi Robert R.
Published: February 2019

Nigerian democracy is particularly vexing for Chinese efforts to promote the New Silk Road as a pan-African venture. Beijing wants Nigeria to become a keystone of South-South alliances that can challenge Western control over the international system. But China’s disruptive presence has engendered resentment across Africa. Instead of developing into a showcase of Sino-African collaboration, Nigeria seemed to confirm fears that China would be another domineering empire subverting native industries. Fearing a failure that could reverberate throughout Africa, China’s leaders scrambled to show their commitment to Nigerian industrialization. Beijing boosted investments in infrastructure and energy and, then, pledged to relocate factories and technology to make Nigeria an export platform for manufacturing. China’s willingness to take on greater risks stemmed from its conviction that Nigeria was important not only for Africa, but also for appealing to Latin America where economic nationalists voiced similar accusations that China stifled independent development.
Learning Abroad, Evading at Home
Authors: Bianchi Robert R.
Published: February 2019

As the New Silk Road exposes China to disruptive influences from many directions, China’s leaders will have to confront the unfinished business of integrating their own society. Divisions inside China are severe and deepening rapidly. They intersect and aggravate one another, producing more and more groups with grievances that cannot be adequately addressed by a single-party state that chokes public debate and outlaws collective action. China has many options for experimenting with inclusive formulas that allow power-sharing without embracing free elections and multiparty pluralism. Since Mao’s death, debates over political reform have started and stalled several times. As those debates resume, China will increasingly see itself as a changed society requiring a more representative government that matches its more prominent position in world affairs. Hong Kong’s semi-democracy is an instructive example of the manipulative strategies that authoritarian rulers might try to emulate on the mainland.
Introduction
Authors: Weighill Rob , Gaub Florence
Published: February 2019

This chapter discusses the historical context of Gaddafi, his revolutionary system and reign in power for over forty years and sets the scene for all that followed when the Arab Spring erupted in Libya in January 2011. It portrays a country with significant economic potential stimulated by oil wealth but largely squandered by a lack of diversification and foreign direct investment, and the many challenges it faced in terms of economy, human rights and security. Finally, it lays out the regime’s responses to the early beginnings of the Arab Spring.
The War Begins—And NATO Thinks About It
Authors: Weighill Rob , Gaub Florence
Published: February 2019

This chapter describes the start of the US-led coalition intervention (Odyssey Dawn) as the prelude to NATO involvement, aimed at reducing Gaddafi’s combat forces, especially his air defences, command and control nodes and fielded forces. It lays out how NATO became finally the body executing the UN mandate despite French, German, Turkish and African Union reticence. The chapter also discusses the doctrine of Responsibility to Protect, which became the NATO mandate but did not include regime change or removal of Gaddafi from power. The chapter concludes describing deepening resolve by Gaddafi to remain in power, political maneuvering across the global stage and the final preparations by NATO to integrate forces into its command and control and begin combat operations.
A Summer of Stalemate
Authors: Weighill Rob , Gaub Florence
Published: February 2019

With public impatience mounting, this chapter highlights the pressure placed on NATO to increase the tempo of combat operations to bring the conflict to an end. But the majority of legitimate military targets had been struck by June and accurate intelligence was proving difficult. Strict adherence to the legal and moral foundations upon which the targeting had been developed (such as pattern of life, no civilian casualties, low collateral damage) slowed progress further. The situation was exacerbated when some nations elected to aim at targets only if the effect coincided with national interests. The arrival of NATO’s attack helicopters in June were considered a game changer, albeit their influence was considered more psychologically effective than physically damaging. Diplomatic and political initiatives prevailed ceaselessly, with momentum building to the NTC’s advantage. NATO planned for a post-Gaddafi era, albeit at this time regime collapse looked unlikely.
Tripoli Falls, and Gaddafi With It
Authors: Weighill Rob , Gaub Florence
Published: February 2019

As the rebel net tightened around the loyalist forces and Gaddafi lost Tripoli, this chapter provides an account of the final days of the regime and its unsuccessful struggle to maintain power. NATO scaled back its targeting of loyalist forces due to an increasing risk of targeting the rebels and civilian population and the decline in territory occupied by the Gaddafi’s forces. The chapter examines the international stage, as the priority was placed on finding a political solution, stimulated by a variety of high-level meetings involving the Contact Group, UN, AU, NATO and NTC. Public exposure of the presence of special forces in Libya sparked international outcry and the tempo of NATO operations subsided gradually and ceased altogether on Gaddafi’s death and with the final collapse of the regime. NATO ended Operation Unified Protector on 31 Oct 11.
The Aftermath
Authors: Weighill Rob , Gaub Florence
Published: February 2019

This chapter takes stock of the Libya operation: it looks at the loss of human life, at operational costs as well as at the political consequences of the conflict. It looks particularly at the aftermath of the war in Libya itself, but also at NATO and the lessons it drew from the operation. In addition, the question of civilian casualties caused by the alliance is addressed in detail.
Hard Questions
Authors: Kekes John
Published: February 2019

The hard questions are: Is there an absolute value? Must we conform? Do we owe what our country asks of us? Is justice necessary? How should we respond to evil? Is it right to forgive wrong actions? Is shame good? Should we be true to who we are? Do good intentions justify bad actions? Should moral evaluations be overriding? These questions are hard because each has several reasonable but conflicting answers. Their conflicts show that we are ambivalent about what answer we should give when we have to make important decisions whose consequences affect us, our relationships, and our attitude to the society we live in. The aim of this book is to show how hard questions can be reasonably answered. Comparisons are central to the approach of this book. Each chapter is concerned with two conflicting answers that have been given to one of the hard questions by those who had to face the question in different anthropological, historical, and literary contexts. These comparisons are central to the evaluations of the answers. They enable us to learn from the successes and failures of others how we can form a deeper understanding of the reasons for and against the answers we might give. The comparisons enlarge how we see the possibilities and limits of life. By learning from others, we can decide more reasonably how we should respond to the hard questions we face.
Challenges, Hopes, Vocations
Authors: Fichter Stephen J. , Gaunt Thomas P. , Hoegeman Catherine , Perl Paul M.
Published: February 2019

This chapter first looks at the challenges identified by the bishops: secularism, religious freedom, indifference, marriage, family, lack of priests, and relativism. Additionally, attention is given to the challenge of addressing clergy sexual abuse. Second, we examine their hopes for the future: young adults, laity, spirituality, vocations to Church ministry, Pope Francis, priests, Hispanics, and evangelization. Third, we look at how the bishops are encouraging vocations to priesthood and religious life. How are they promoting a new generation of priests, sisters and brothers to serve the Church? These three issues provide a broad understanding of where the bishops of the United States may be leading the Church.
Personnel and Collaboration
Authors: Fichter Stephen J. , Gaunt Thomas P. , Hoegeman Catherine , Perl Paul M.
Published: February 2019

This chapter considers the bishop’s role as leader of an organization whose primary resources are people. Using data from the survey and interviews, the chapter explores bishops’ relationships and collaborations with Church personnel, including priests, deacons, religious, and lay persons. It also explores relationships with other bishops and collaborations through state and national bishops’ conferences. The first section explores the bishops’ perspectives and experiences with different types of Church personnel. The second section discusses how bishops rely on different individuals and groups to assist in their decision making. The final section looks beyond the diocese to relationships with fellow bishops, both individually and as part of national and state bishop conferences.
The Bishops Speak
Authors: Fichter Stephen J. , Gaunt Thomas P. , Hoegeman Catherine , Perl Paul M.
Published: February 2019

This chapter discusses Catholic bishops speaking out on issues of the day. Catholic Church teaching and tradition yields “conservative” positions on issues such as abortion and physician-assisted suicide and “liberal” positions on issues such as immigration, capital punishment, and assistance to the poor. Survey data finds that bishops tend to write more frequently about the Church’s pro-life teachings than its “liberal” social teachings. Most bishops say they ask Catholics to consider Catholic teachings when voting for candidates. Most bishops agree that the clergy sexual abuse scandal has made it more difficult for them to present or defend Catholic teaching in their diocese. This is especially the case in dioceses where the scandal has received more media coverage. In general, bishops say that criticism in the media is a greater problem for them in more secularized areas of the country.
Commentaries
Authors: Fichter Stephen J. , Gaunt Thomas P. , Hoegeman Catherine , Perl Paul M.
Published: February 2019

If you take seriously, as I do, the notions of apostolic succession and the necessity of the Church manifesting “God with us” today, alive in the world, then this account of the U.S. bishops provides wonderful food for thought.

It provides cause for grounded hope. These are good men with strong habits of sacrifice, prayer, and service, while living in a “me-first” society. In fact, one of the most uplifting—and yes, surprising—aspects of the entire survey was the amount of time the vast majority of bishops spend praying. Having sat in on countless meetings with bishops wielding calendars bleeding blue ink (into two or three years hence), I was frankly surprised at this good news. But only a tad less surprised than when I learned how many of them exercise regularly. I would imagine it’s a matter of absolute necessity, again, given what I have experienced of their insane schedules....
Building a Nationalist Base in Rural India
Authors: Hardiman David
Published: February 2019

The third chapter shows how the methods that Gandhi developed in South Africa were applied in practice in three movements in rural India that occurred in the second decade of the twentieth century. The chapter starts with a struggle in Bijoliya in princely India that had nothing to do with Gandhi initially. This brings out how such resistance was already being developed in popular local campaigns, showing how in time they linked up with Gandhi and began to apply a more strict and principled form of nonviolence. The other two struggles – in Champaran and Kheda – were led directly by Gandhi. Although the author has written already on the Kheda Satyagraha of 1918 in his1981 book Peasant Nationalists of Gujarat, he treats the topic in a new way here, focusing on its importance in the history of nonviolent struggle.
Nonviolence
Authors: Hardiman David
Published: February 2019

The fourth chapter examines the way that Gandhi began to emphasize the centrality of ‘nonviolence’ to satyagraha after his return to India from South Africa in 1915. He adapted the religious principle of ahimsa (nonviolence), giving it a new political content. In this, he came into conflict with Hindu nationalists, such as Lala Lajpat Rai, who held that a supposed Indian civilizational emphasis on ‘ahimsa’ (nonviolence) had weakened the country, leaving it open to conquest by outsiders. Gandhi argued, by contrast, that the nonviolent way required great courage and that it also conferred a moral advantage when resisting injustice. Also, people of all religions could practice such nonviolence – making it a secular and non-sectarian principle that could be asserted by the oppressed anywhere in the world.
Introduction
Authors: Bonnefoy Laurent
Published: February 2019

The introduction aims to present the paradox of Yemen’s place in world politics and global representations over the last one hundred years or so. The country often appears as one where threats to the global order emerge and is at the same time largely overlooked. The introduction presents the main argument of the book: Yemeni society is concerned by a multitude of interactions with the outside world, many of which remain hidden. As the successive chapters show, this relationship to the world offers an interesting vantage point to understand contemporary Yemen.
Migrants, Merchants and Refugees
Authors: Bonnefoy Laurent
Published: February 2019

This fourth chapter opens the second section of the book, focusing on the various interactions of Yemenis with the world. It highlights the share that Yemenis have taken in shaping societies outside of Yemen throughout history, and more recently in the framework of the war that started in 2015. It focuses in particular on the model of the Hadhrami diaspora but also on the trajectory of migrants in the Gulf countries. The chapter shows how much perspectives for migration have gradually been shrinking in parallel with a growing demand for refuge and economic opportunities, as Yemen is confronted with war and crisis.
When the World Comes to Yemen
Authors: Bonnefoy Laurent
Published: February 2019

This chapter explores the often ignored interactions of foreigners with Yemen. Rather than a secluded society, Yemen is shaped by its many relations with foreign travelers, Asian and African communities, foreign students who study in Islamic and language institutes and Western diplomats and engineers. The interactions that are developed are often fascinating as they are characterized by complex and often ambiguous emotions.
Conclusion
Authors: Bonnefoy Laurent
Published: February 2019

As this book has shown, Yemen’s interactions with the world are characterized by a form of mutual interdependence. The country is confronted with a number of structural challenges that it will not resolve themselves on their own. Amongst them, the issue of water scarcity is assumedly the most fundamental. However, as the dominant world continues to neglect these challenges and remains obsessed with jihadi violence or Iranian encroachment, it is likely that these structural, and yet forgotten challenges, will emerge in the global agenda.
China’s Counter-Terrorism Policy in the Middle East
Authors: Chaziza Mordechai
Published: February 2019

This chapter analyzes China's counter-terrorism policy in the Middle East, and the linkage between the threats posed by terrorist groups at home and abroad. Specifically, this is an investigation of China's counter-terrorism policy in response to the growing threat of terrorism and the linkage between Uyghur terrorism in Xinjiang and the increase in Islamist terrorist attacks in the Middle East as it impacts upon China's national security. These terrorist activities and the connections between them show that terrorism and radicalization transcend boundaries and regions, threatening not only countries in the Middle East but also China’s homeland security.
Perpetrators and Victims Return Home
Authors: Hoekema David A.
Published: February 2019

With the LRA’s withdrawal from Uganda and its release of those who had been abducted, ARLPI redirected its efforts to rehabilitation and reconciliation, as described in this chapter. Priorities included forming local communities to direct these efforts, creating mechanisms to resolve land disputes, and overcoming the mentality of dependence instilled in IDP camps. Traditional Acholi rituals helped facilitate the return to their former communities of both LRA combatants and those they had abducted. This chapter also recounts the remarkable story of a man who, after serving as a high-ranking officer and then escaping from the LRA, overcame others’ skepticism and mistrust, earned a university degree, and today works in youth empowerment.
Healing Conflict and Building Community
Authors: Hoekema David A.
Published: February 2019

Four questions about healing after conflict that were posed in the Introduction are taken up once more in this closing chapter. Divisions created by colonialism, it is argued, can be overcome, as can longstanding conflicts among ethnic groups and religious communities. ARLPI’s work demonstrates that locally grounded initiatives, guided by close relationships with those most affected, can achieve outcomes that many would consider unattainable. The story of ARLPI also shows that political authority and accountability are richer and more complex phenomena than those of formal government. In an era when political and religious differences impede progress and stifle constructive discourse in so many nations, the religious leaders of northern Uganda exemplify an alternative route to profound social change that is not founded on political theories but on courageous and steadfast shared commitments to seek what is best for all in a community.
Since the Beginning
Authors: Johnson Mary , Gautier Mary L. , Wittberg Patricia , Do Thu T.
Published: February 2019

This chapter traces Catholic international sisters in the history of the United States, from the eighteenth century to the present time. The chapter discusses the primarily European origin of many sisters and religious institutes in the first three centuries of sisters’ immigration, and the Asian, African, and Latin American origin of international sisters’ migration to the United States today. It describes the invitations from some bishops and priests in the United States to some religious institutes, and the sisters’ frequent accompaniment of co-ethnics in this country. It discusses the many educational and healthcare institutions the sisters built in this country, and the ministries they also conducted.
Within and Beyond Borders
Authors: Johnson Mary , Gautier Mary L. , Wittberg Patricia , Do Thu T.
Published: February 2019

This chapter focuses on and describes the multiple pathways Catholic international sisters take to the United States. Some immigrate to the United States as children, teens, or adults and then enter religious life; others enter religious life in their home country and are then sent here for formation, education, or short-term or long-term ministry. The chapter analyzes the most common patterns for arrival of international sisters to the United States, comparing the international sisters according to their ethnic/cultural background and year of arrival. The role of U.S. institutes of women religious in hosting international sisters and providing assistance is also examined.
Bridges, Not Walls
Authors: Johnson Mary , Gautier Mary L. , Wittberg Patricia , Do Thu T.
Published: February 2019

This chapter focuses on the contributions that Catholic international sisters make to the United States—to religious life, the Church, and the nation. Sisters identified their contributions along two lines—the benefits of diversity and the benefits of evangelization. The sisters responded that their presence and their cultures added a beneficial diversity to a wide variety of settings—to community, ministry, the Church, and the society more broadly. The chapter concludes with the point that there is a disjuncture between the sisters’ acceptance of diversity in the society and, to a degree, in the Church, but their nonacceptance of diversity in the charisms and lifestyles of religious life.
Conclusion
Authors: Johnson Mary , Gautier Mary L. , Wittberg Patricia , Do Thu T.
Published: February 2019

This chapter contains implications of the research and recommendations to religious institutes and the Church relative to resources, ministries, and structures for the support of international sisters. The chapter also summarizes key points of similarity and difference between international sisters of the nineteenth century and today, including demographic differences (such as age, educational level, and language proficiency), where they come from, why they come, and whether they entered religious life before or after coming to the United States. It also describes similarities and differences in how they adapted to U.S. culture and religious life, how they responded to the challenges of immigration, and in their individual and collective contributions to the Church and society.