By John Amoda
In the first essay on the monograph of the August 2009 Minna meeting of the DA’WAH COORDINATION COUNCIL OF NIGERIA, DCCN, on the “Boko Haram”, I called attention to the fact that initially the DCCN  saw the Boko Haram as a Muslim matter and was primarily concerned with how the majority of orthodox Islam in Nigeria was to respond to the Boko Haram group.

In that edition of the Tuesday Column I promised to take up in this essay the specifics of the DCCN proposals of how ordinary Muslims should relate to the Boko Haram in the light of the Quran and the Prophet’s teachings.

In the third and concluding edition of the Tuesday Column I will address the mutations in the Boko Haram movement that has transformed some tendencies in that movement into a Nigerian security issue and so hopefully established the basis for a Nigerian Muslim and Christian response to the Boko Haram “Crisis and Tragedy” as stated by the DCCN.

The less controversial way to accomplish the task of this second segment is to list the questions which in the opinion of the DCCN are the commonly asked questions among Muslims about Boko Haram.

The appreciation of the DCCN’s answers is properly the responsibility of the Islamic community leadership that is the target audience of the DCCN’s monograph titled: “The Boko Haram Tragedy: Frequently Asked Questions; Responses to 26 of the most commonly asked questions regarding the Boko Haram crisis and tragedy”.

These 26 questions are treated under the section titled “Opinions on the Boko Haram Tragedy”. We list these questions only in this essay. The reader interested in the answers provided them in the monograph can request for copies from the DCCN. Their mailing particulars are the following:

PMB 229, 11mi Avenue, Minna, Niger State, Nigeria Phone: +230-806 557 4427 e-mail: ndccsecretariat@yahoo.com

*What does the “Boko Haram” group call itself?

*Where did the name “Boko Haram” come from?

*What is the meaning of the word “Boko”?

*In view of their actions against Muslims, especially their attempt to assassinate some Muslim scholars, are the BH members to be considered as Muslims?

*What is the fate in the hereafter of those of their members killed in the cause of Boko Haram?

*What punishment does Islam prescribe for killers among the members of the Boko Haram group?

*Did the deceased among the Boko Haram members deserve an Islamic burial?

*Is fighting Boko Haram a Jihad?

*What is the fate of Muslim security personnel who were killed in the conflict with Boko Haram members?

*How do people view Boko Haram?

*What is the organisational structure of the Boko Haram group?

*From the perspective of the Boko Haram group, what is their alternative to Western secular education (Boko)?

*Other than Western education (Boko) what else are their concerns?

*How do BH members regard other Muslims who do not share their ideology?

*What is Islam’s position on Western secular education (Boko) from the perspective of the majority of Muslims?

*What are Muslims doing about the current state of Nigeria?

*What is our response to police persecution of non-BH members, because of their Muslim appearance?

*What did Islamic organisations and scholars do to prevent the Boko crises?

*How did the response of Muslim scholars to the Boko Haram affect the group?

*Did Muslims who were not BH members over-react in their cooperation with security forces?

*How should we face or resolve the Boko Haram challenge?

*Why do some scholars speak against the BH while still being critical of Western secular education?

*What is the reaction of the global community to the handling of the Boko Haram crises?

*What are the expected effects of the Boko Haram tragedy on Da’wah in Nigeria?

*Why is Northern Nigeria predisposed to the emergence of groups such as BH?

*What should our responsibility be to existing BH members?

The above are the questions treated in the monograph. These questions show that the DCCN was addressing the emergence of the Boko Haram group as a “within-the-Muslim-Community Crisis and Tragedy”. These questions are still of contemporary relevance and importance to the target audiences of the DCCN monograph.

However, there have been mutations in the Boko Haram group, which the above questions could not address because of the parameters prescribed for the Minna meeting. Some of these mutations have become national and global security matters in the course of the Boko Haram movement. The third and final essay will deal with the Boko Haram as a National Security Interest Group.