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Boko Haram is one of the world´s deadliest jihadist groups. It has killed more than twenty thoUSnd people and displaced more than two million in a campaign of terror that began in Nigeria but has since spread to Chad, Niger, and Cameroon as well. This is the first book to tell the full story of this West African affiliate of the Islamic State, from its beginnings in the early 2000s to its most infamous violence, including the 2014 kidnapping of 276 Nigerian schoolgirls. The book closely examines both the behavior and beliefs that are the keys to understanding Boko Haram. Putting the group´s violence in the context of the complex religious and political environment of Nigeria and the Lake Chad region, the book examines how Boko Haram relates to states, politicians, Salafis, Sufis, Muslim civilians, and Christians. It also probes Boko Haram´s international connections, including its loose former ties to al-Qaida and its 2015 pledge of allegiance to ISIS.

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"Alexander Thurston has written the definitive history of Boko Haram. By weaving a complex tapestry of politics and religion, he explains the peculiarity and potency of one of the world´s most lethal jihadist insurgencies. A violent and secretive sect that was impenetrable even to experts is now laid bare."--William McCants, author of The ISIS Apocalypse

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Alexander Thurston is visiting assistant professor of African studies at Georgetown University and the author of Salafism in Nigeria: Islam, Preaching, and Politics

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