SHEIK ADAM ALBANI: WHY BOKO IS HARAM

When Mohammed Yusuf disclosed that he has left Shi’a and returned to Sunna, I was one of those who constantly talked to him about the ideology of Boko Haram. On some occasions, I sat with him with his students and in other occasions, only two of us sat. 

The essence was to convince him that Islam doesn’t accept the ideology of Boko Haram. I tried to convince him that since he claimed to be the follower of Sunna, therefore Sunna has its teachings and principles, and the idea of Boko Haram is contrary to those teachings. 

All our efforts, because I know other scholars like late Sheikh Ja’afar also engaged him on such issues, fell on deaf ears. He proffered some defenses, which are not authentic in the jurisprudence of Islam.

Among the reasons Mohammed Yusuf offered as to why Boko is Haram is the evolution of man that is found in textbooks of Western Education. What is obtained in those textbooks contradict the explanation offered by the Holy Qur’an on the evolution of man, based on their understanding. 

The other issue is how the Western Education corrupts our young men and women because they engage in committing sins like adultery. These, among many other issues, were some of the reasons they used in saying that Boko is Haram and when you look at those issues from the surface, you may be lured to believe in them. 

I have delivered many lectures on all the controversies and I know Sheikh Ja’afar has done many. I think to understand the whole issue, one needs to go back to those lectures and also get the arguments offered by the slain leader of the Boko Haram.

It should, however, be noted that many prominent scholars of Islam have provided clear explanations on the issue of Western Education hundreds of years ago and those scholars have resolved all the ambiguous issues regarding Western Education. This was why I said the idea of Boko Haram is against the jurisprudence of Islam.