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rior to Nigeria'€™s general election in the weeks to come, Boko Haram has been increasing the magnitude and brutality of its attack targets since early this year to abrogate the most important poll for its country'€™s future. Thus, since 2009 the movement has killed 13,000 people and 1.5 million have been displaced.

Knowing that postponement of the election may threaten national stability, military cohesiveness and acknowledgment of Boko Haram'€™s might and victory, the government with US support is determined to hold the election on time.

Nigeria is plural in terms of ethnicity, religion, tribes, culture, history and language. Around half of its population of 173 million are Christians.

 Internal economic, social, cultural and political conditions produced the Boko Haram group, besides external influences. Seven years after independence, frequent military coups and horizontal conflicts took place up until 1999. A credible, relatively democratic and fair presidential election just took place in 2011. Amid uncertain social and political life from 1960 to 1999, the military robbed people of no less than US$400 billion.

Although Nigeria is Africa'€™s biggest economy, the UN recorded in 2013 that its people'€™s average income was only $1 per day, while literacy was only about 68 percent. Of this figure, Muslims largely only finished secondary school. Meanwhile more Christians continued education, contributing to their better economic conditions.

Meanwhile, the state abused the law and restricted civil liberties. State military and intelligence detained people as they liked and detainees were tortured to the bitter end '€” as disclosed in 2012 by the US Department of Foreign Affairs.

Significant Islamic sects in Nigeria are Sufism orders including Wahabism. After independence and access to education was opened widely, many students turned to Salafi movements, considered better to face challenges of modernity.

Penetration of Wahabism took place in the 1970s through Abubakar Gummi who studied in Saudi Arabia and on returning he linked up closely with Wahabi clerics within the Saudi ruling elite.

It is most probable that Boko Haram'€™s influence could be exported to Indonesia, and that it could recruit Indonesians to join its violent jihad. First, in recent decades, many Nigerians have moved back and forth to this country. Second, Boko Haram is familiar with Jakarta-based Islamic mass organizations sympathetic to its cause. There have been calls for jihadis to unite, as suggested by al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Moreover, three factors could attract Indonesians to terrorism. First, there are individuals who feel marginalized, perceiving economic growth has only enriched the high class and business people.

Second, some Islamic organizations in Indonesia facilitate such individuals with a fairly comfortable way of life and reintroduce a new value system. In many cases they have created an isolated or '€œsecret'€ community or leased a house for some years for individuals, provided jobs or capital from sponsors to carry out small businesses. For example, al-Qaeda under Osama bin Laden transferred funds to its affiliated jihadis all over the world.

In Indonesia, Jamaah Islamiyah was given money through Hambali who, in turn, distributed to followers like Imam Samudra, Mukhlas, Amrozi, Noordin M. Top and other key persons. When Hambali was detained, these leaders carried out business or plundered, as conducted by Imam in Banten; the wealth of unbelievers was believed to be permitted to be plundered.

Abu Bakar Ba'€™asyir, the leader of Ansharut Tauhid, collected funds from rich individuals sympathetic to the group'€™s cause, then distributed to his followers. Ba'€™asyir and Abdullah Sungkar '€” founders of Jamaah Islamiyah '€” before escaping to Malaysia in the early 1980s, even built an isolated community in Talangsari, Lampung, which was destroyed by the Army in 1989.

Some individuals were also influenced by violent jihadi doctrine through the Internet, books, or fanatic Muslims and/or descendants of followers of the past Indonesian Islamic State movement or Darul Islam.

The latter individuals joined Muslim radical groups by their own means, attending compulsory lectures and sermons. The ideology was extracted from sharia in a limited way, in which jihad was believed to be the center of Islam itself.

 Thus Islam was propagated as a religion of war, which should be executed endlessly by Muslims until sharia is implemented in all aspects of Muslim life and all non-Islamic norms and values are eradicated.

Third, the factor of ideology. In the case of al-Qaeda, the Islamic State or Boko Haram, a particular element is takfir (excommunication), which considers outsiders to be unbelievers who must be demolished completely along with their culture, even by violence.

These people believe that this life is only fana (transitory), where people should only submit themselves to God'€™s will '€” by conducting jihad '€” for which they will reach paradise after death, surrounded by angels.

Meanwhile Boko Haram so far has not been defeated, though the Nigerian military gets technical support from the US, Britain, France and Israel.

First, the Nigerian Muslims are reluctant to support their tainted military. People consider priorities should be law enforcement, ending corruption and improving welfare instead of combating Boko Haram, itself produced by social problems.

Second, Boko Haram now is both better armed and more motivated than before.

Third, soldiers of the Salafi movement allegedly conspired with Boko Haram. In May 2014, nine generals were interrogated on suspicions of selling arms to Boko Haram.

Fourth, Boko Haram is allied with the Arewan People'€™s Congress, the militia wing of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACM), the main group representing Muslims in the north. For dozens of years this group has voiced its fundamental opposition against Western education. The ACM possess abundant funds with military and intelligence skills.

And last, Boko Haram acquired monthly contributions from a few state governors '€” likely through pressure. Funds and weapons were also gained from groups in Saudi Arabia, British Muslims, al-Qaeda in North Africa and ransoms from victim families. The movement will grow as long as these financial sources remain.
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The writer is an expert staffer at the Institute for Democracy Education (IDe) in Jakarta.