mosque from harassment and a significant number of key government appointments. Tamiyyah Yusuf delivered by dedicating several sermons to criticizing Sheriff’s opponents, attacking their Islamic credentials. Lower level members of the group acted as election thugs, suppressing the turnout in constituencies favourable to his opponents and stuffing ballot boxes. After Sheriff was elected in 2003, the organization received an influx of cash. Yusuf used their financial resources to gain a larger following, funding micro-credit scheme for his ‘a followers and giv[ing] welfare, food and shelter to refugees and unemployed youth.’ Beneficiaries of the scheme invested it in businesses, donating the profits back to the organisation. Yusuf directed lieutenants to buy and stock weapons for self-defence, possibly as a result of the organisation’s previous history with hostile local populations. These developments seemed to mark the beginning of a fruitful and durable alliance. However, frustrations developed due to the perception that Governor Sheriff had not delivered on his policy promises. By the 2007 election, Sheriff was able to use the advantages of the incumbency to ensure his second bid for governor, removing the need for this alliance. In protest, Boko Haram lieutenant Buji Foi, who had been appointed religious affairs commissioner, resigned from his post. Simultaneously, Yusuf burned his bridges with mainstream salafist organisations. His extreme sermons, which often criticised local Islamic authorities, began to provoke severe backlash, particularly from his former teacher, and prominent cleric Sheikh Ja’far Mahmud Adam. By 2009, the relationships between Boko Haram and local support networks had significantly disintegrated. Previously, debates between Boko Haram and other salafist groups had centred on the appropriate way for Muslims to engage with secular life, eliciting a fairly diverse set of responses. Increasingly however, Yusuf began to engage in the takfir, charged practice by which one Muslim denounces another as an apostate. Mainstream salafist
Tamiyyah mosque from harassment and a significant number of key government appointments. Yusuf delivered by dedicating several sermons to criticizing Sheriff’s opponents, attacking their Islamic credentials. Lower level members of the group acted as election thugs, suppressing the turnout in constituencies favourable to his opponents and stuffing ballot boxes. After Sheriff was elected in 2003, the organization received an influx of cash. Yusuf used their financial resources to gain a larger following, funding ‘a micro-credit scheme for his followers and giv[ing] welfare, food and shelter to refugees and unemployed youth.’ Beneficiaries of the scheme invested it in businesses, donating the profits back to the organisation. Yusuf directed lieutenants to buy and stock weapons for self-defence, possibly as a result of the organisation’s previous history with hostile local populations. These developments seemed to mark the beginning of a fruitful and durable alliance. However, frustrations developed due to the perception that Governor Sheriff had not delivered on his policy promises. By the 2007 election, Sheriff was able to use the advantages of the incumbency to ensure his second bid for governor, removing the need for this alliance. In protest, Boko Haram lieutenant Buji Foi, who had been appointed religious affairs commissioner, resigned from his post. Simultaneously, Yusuf burned his bridges with mainstream salafist organisations. His extreme sermons, which often criticised local Islamic authorities, began to provoke severe backlash, particularly from his former teacher, and prominent cleric Sheikh Ja’far Mahmud Adam. By 2009, the relationships between Boko Haram and local support networks had significantly disintegrated. Previously, debates between Boko Haram and other salafist groups had centred on the appropriate way for Muslims to engage with secular life, eliciting a fairly diverse set of responses. Increasingly however, Yusuf began to engage in takfir, the practice by which one Muslim denounces another as an apostate. Mainstream salafist charged
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