Jihadology Podcast: 'Boko Haram' Transitions to The Islamic State in West Africa with Jacob Zenn

In this episode Aaron talks to Jacob Zenn about the group commonly referred to as Boko Haram. They covered a variety of topics including:

• Background on Wilayat Gharb Ifriqiyya
• Misuse of the term Boko Haram to describe what is now called Wilayat Gharb Ifriqiyya, but previously was Jama’at Ahl al-Sunnah li-l-Da’wah wa-l-Jihad
• Process that led Jama’at Ahl al-Sunnah li-l-Da’wah wa-l-Jihad to pledge bay’a to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and become Wilayat Gharb Ifriyya of The Islamic State?
• Current status of Wilayat Gharb Ifriqiyya in Nigeria over the past few months
• Key questions and observations Jacob is currently looking at to see how situation might develop in the future

This episode also features a discussion of primary source material released between July 18th to August 1st, and a #SocialMedia segment covering posts from July 28th to August 3rd. Links:

• Mindful of the Islamic State, Boko Haram Broadens Reach into Lake Chad Region - The Jamestown Foundation
• A Biography of Boko Haram and the Bay`a to al-Baghdadi - CTC Sentinel
• Women, Gender and the evolving tactics of Boko Haram - Journal of Terrorism Research
• Nigerian al-Qaedaism - excerpt from Current Trends in Islamist Ideology, Vol. 16 (PDF)
• Bokostan (@BokoWatch) | Twitter
• The Clairvoyant: Boko Haram’s Media and The Islamic State Connection? by Aaron Y. Zelin - Jihadology

The podcast is produced by Karl Morand. If you have feedback you can email podcast@jihadology.net, or find us on Twitter: @JihadPod. You can subscribe to the show in iTunes or with our RSS feed.

Download mp3 (38MB)