Table Of ContentHORN, SAHEL AND RIFT
STIG JARLE HANSEN
Horn, Sahel and Rift
Fault-lines of the African Jihad
HURST & COMPANY, LONDON
First published in the United Kingdom in 2019 by
C. Hurst & Co. (Publishers) Ltd.,
41 Great Russell Street, London, WC1B 3PL
© Stig Jarle Hansen, 2019
Printed in India
All rights reserved.
Distributed in the United States, Canada and Latin America by Oxford
University Press, 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States
of America.
The right of Stig Jarle Hansen to be identified as the author of this publication
is asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents
Act, 1988.
A Cataloguing-in-Publication data record for this book is available from the
British Library.
ISBN: 9781849044141
www.hurstpublishers.com
CONTENTS
Preface vii
Abbreviations ix
1. Introduction 1
2. Developing a Typology of Territorial Presence 17
3. Prologue: al-Qaeda in Sudan 51
4. Jama’at Nusrat ul-Islam wal-Muslimin’: Grey Borders
in the Desert 65
5. The Islamic State in the Greater Sahara: On the Periphery
of the Periphery 91
6. Boko Haram/The Islamic State in West Africa:
From Territoriality to Fragmentation? 99
7. The Allied Democratic Forces: Opportunists in Disguise? 127
8. Al-Hijra/Al-Muhajiroun, and Their Unclear Fringes 143
9. The Harakat al-Shabaab: From Territoriality to
Semi-territoriality 163
10. The Islamic State in Somalia: On the Periphery 185
11. Conclusions 197
Notes 203
Bibliography 265
Index 301
v
PREFACE
This book originated in an interest in African jihadist organisations.
It is the product of a dramatic intellectual journey: friends have been
tortured and killed, both by the organisations described here and by
their enemies. The book is an attempt to ground a comparative analysis
in detailed local studies. It is my belief that in order to discover general
trends, one needs to study the particular in depth. The book also strives
to give voice to individuals not often heard in the literature, thereby
illustrating for example that rural violence targeting farmers may be
more important for the dynamics within jihadist organisations than
grand terrorist attacks on international targets and global ideologies.
Along the way, many colleagues, friends and fellow researchers have
contributed to my work. In Harvard, Christopher Anzalone, whose
office was located just metres away from me, has, through our frequent
conversations, stimulated and enriched my reflections on the subject.
His unique archive of jihadist videos has proved very helpful for the
book. Aisha Ahmad, at the University of Toronto, commented on my
ideas and helped secure the grant that made possible the field studies
on which this book draws. Yahiya Ibrahim at the University of Florida
has been exceptionally helpful, as has Yahya Hagi Ibrahim of Benadir
University in Mogadishu. Ilmari Käihkö, Linnea Gelot and Stian Lid
have all contributed to my conceptualisation of the subject. I am also
very grateful to Mohamed Husein Gaas, Jacob Zenn, Ballama Mustafa
vii
PREFACE
and Adam Sandor for their invaluable comments on various chapters.
Presentations at Harvard and the University of Florida, presided over
by Stephen Walt and Terje Østebø, have all contributed to my thinking.
Tor A. Benjaminsen and Gry Synnevåg shared their local networks and
knowledge with me.
The book benefited immensely from a number of my students,
especially Clifford Collins Omondi for his rich knowledge of Majengo,
Nairobi, and Brenda Jimris (who won a prize for the best thesis at the
Norwegian University of Life Sciences during the period in which I
wrote this book) for her knowledge of Kenya and the Swahili coast.
Umar Abdi Mouhamed, Adam Egal and Asha Adam shared their
understanding of Somalia, and El Hadj Djitteye guided me through
the politics of northern Mali. Adolphe Bazengezi watched over my
steps in Congo. Isma’il Alfa Abdulrahim did the same in Nigeria. Ida
Bary gave invaluable help, translating Arabic texts and enhancing my
knowledge of East and North Africa and the Middle East.
The patience of my publisher, Michael Dwyer, has been amazing.
Lastly, but perhaps most importantly, thanks to my wife and family
who have been persistently patient with me. Two children were born
during my work on this book, yet my wife found the strength to allow
me to finish it.
Professor Stig Jarle Hansen
Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria
October 2018
viii
ABBREVIATIONS
ADC Democratic Alliance for Change
ADF Allied Democratic Forces
ADFL Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of
Congo-Zaire
AFISMA International Support Mission in Mali
AI al-Islax
AIAI al-Ittihad al-Islamiya
AMISOM African Union Mission in Somalia
AMYC Ansar Muslim Youth Centre
ANC African National Congress
AQAP al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
AQEA al-Qaeda East Africa
AQIM al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb
ARS Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia
ATNMC Alliance Touareg du Nord-Mali pour le Changement
ATT Amadou Toumani Touré
AU African Union
CATIA Groupe Autodéfense Touareg Imghad et Alliés
CCM Chama Cha Mapinduzi
CJTF Civilian Joint Task Force
CMA Coordination des mouvements de l’Azawad
CUF Civic United Front
ix
