ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the historical account of violent religious extremism in Africa by examining the socio-economic and political experiences of diverse states, which provoked grievances that radical groups used in propagating their violent campaign for a theocratic rule. The quest for Islamic rule suggests that the extremist agenda transcends a localized one to encompass an ideal for a global caliphate. Radical Jihadists emerged in Africa since the 1960s, and gained momentum in the 1990s when their violent atrocities became more pronounced. The proliferation of violent extremist groups across the African continent can be understood within the broader context of the interplay of socio-economic and political environments that spawned grievances, the porous nature of African borders that breeds enabling environment for the spread of extremists’ network across sub-regions and the influence of global Jihadists that provided resources for the extremists’ propaganda. Although African states have varying degree of fragility, most of the states have weak institutions that put them at risk of the gestation of extremist groups that use religion as a means to demand for the dissolution of the ineffectual state institutions. This chapter details the socio-economic and political contexts that allow violent religious extremists to thrive in Africa.
