The Making of a Mobile Caliphate State in the African Sahel 42 Hamdy Hassan Contents Introduction ...................................................................................... 756 Transformations of Islamic Radicalism in the Sahel ........................................... 757 The General Context of the Salafist Jihadist Transformations .............................. 758 The Geology of Violent Jihadi Groups in the Sahel: ISIS Vis-à-Vis Al-Qaeda ............ 759 Al-Qaeda and Its Affiliates in the African Sahel ............................................ 759 The Organization of the Islamic State: African Daesh ...................................... 763 The Mobile Caliphate State Across the African Sahel ......................................... 764 Numerical and Intellectual Multiplication of Jihadist Groups .............................. 765 Toyota Land Cruiser Mobile State .......................................................... 766 Use Peripheries to Attack Centers ........................................................... 767 Conclusion ....................................................................................... 768 Cross-References ................................................................................ 770 References ....................................................................................... 770 Abstract The goal of this chapter is to thoroughly understand the context of the dominant jihadist narratives and the nature of their appeal in the Sahelian region. All these jihadist ideologies are based on a peculiar Salafi Radicalism that aimed to transform the state and society by methods of preaching and violence. Therefore, studying and analyzing the principles of the Salafist discourse as a political project helps us to understand its points of strengths and weaknesses. In addition, we can be better look at the future trends and prospects of violent jihadist groups in the African Sahel. The roots of this Islamic discourse as a political project may be attributed to what Lunay and Suarez call the “Islamic domain.” The rise of violent radical Islamism represents drive from the internal political and socioeco- nomic dynamics evolving in each Sahelian state. However, the struggle and H. Hassan (*) College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Zayed University, Dubai, UAE e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2019 755 S. Ratuva (ed.), The Palgrave Handbook of Ethnicity, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2898-5_158 756 H. Hassan rivalry of jihadist ideologies after the military defeat of Daesh in Mosul is important at a time when thousands of fighters who have survived the civil wars in Iraq, Syria, and Libya are looking for new jihadist fields. Keywords Mobile Caliphate State · the African Sahel · Al-Qaeda · Daesh and the Salafist discourse Introduction One of the most unintended consequences of colonial rule in the Sahel and West Africa was the Islamization of large parts of it. The politicization of religion has often been designed so that the Islamic movements have been viewed from a specific political manner, based on their position towards the existing authority both in terms of acceptance and cooperation or rejection and resistance. The Islamic sphere can be understood as a kind of convergence between colonial modernity and Islam. It is a public space shaped by the provisions of religion, not the political variables or social dynamics (Launay and Soares 1999). It is therefore theoretically separate from “special” affiliations such as ethnicity, proximity, or language. Bearing in mind these formative contexts, especially in the colonial era, helps us understand the political, religious, and ethnic dialectics of the Sahelian societies. Although the intervention of France, Chad, and other foreign powers in the Mali crisis (2013) has weakened the capabilities of the jihadi groups in the region, the violent attacks in Bamako and Ouagadougou since then prove that the jihadist discourse cannot be easily defeated. It continues to attract many followers within the general Islamic sphere in the region. The significance of this chapter drives from the nature of the Sahel as a highly complex security complex where the region still has a pivotal role in analyzing and understanding security and development issues not only in Africa but also in the world as well. It is clear that the Sahel corridors, particularly in Mali and northern Nigeria, constitute major security and development challenges to African societies. It also raises important questions about initiatives to address these chal- lenges – nationally, regionally, and internationally. It can be said that the complexity of the Sahel, in its manifestations and its current jihadist discourse, requires that we urgently review the nature of the post-colonial African state, structure of the associated regional dynamics, and the international response frameworks in Africa. This problem is linked, partly, to the absence of a comprehensive perspective to understand the discourse of violent jihadist groups in the African Sahel. There are partial approaches that reflect one aspect of the problem or reflect a prior intellectual bias. This is evident from the multiplicity of uses of the concept of the African “Sahel” itself, which is sometimes narrowed so as not to exceed its geographical space and sometimes expands to include a political space too large to reflect different intellectual and ideological contexts. This means that the inability to grasp the 42 The Making of a Mobile Caliphate State in the African Sahel 757 dimensions of the Sahel is an undeniable obstacle to understanding the interactions in the jihadist environment in the region since the beginning of the new millennium. Based on this overall purpose, this chapter seeks to answer two main questions as follows: – What are the most prominent features of the geology of the armed jihadist groups that have engulfed the African Sahel since the beginning of this century? The map of these groups has witnessed continuous deconstructions and recon- structions processes that reflect their intellectual and ideological transformations, on the one hand, and the transformation of the surrounding security systems, on the other. – What are the trends of unity and division among armed jihadist groups, especially the rivalry between the Islamic state and al-Qaeda in the wake of the relative defeat of Daesh in Iraq and Syria? The well-informed review of the previous literature shows that research and analysis of the phenomenon of violent jihadist movements in the African Sahel and its underlying motives are still dominated by Western accounts espoused by some countries and research institutions (Nicoll and Delaney 2012; Boutellis and Mahmoud 2017; Cohen 2013; Korteweg 2014; Varhola and Sheperd 2013). It is therefore essen- tial to draw upon and support national scientific research on the phenomenon of violent extremism in general and violent religious extremism in particular and to ensure that their results are disseminated and taken into account in the development of national and regional policies. Nationally motivated knowledge, based on a correct understanding of historical contexts, cultural, religious, social, and economic phenom- ena and transnational developments, forms the basis for building a common national identity and a bulwark against exclusionism and extremism. In an attempt to answer the previous questions, this chapter is divided into two main sections in addition to the introduction and conclusion. The section “Transformations of Islamic Radicalism in the Sahel” discusses the map and trans- formations of jihadist groups in the Sahel. Section “The Mobile Caliphate State Across the African Sahel” provides an analysis of the virtual caliphate in the Sahel. Transformations of Islamic Radicalism in the Sahel The African Sahara, in ancient time and before the arrival of the Europeans, has been regarded as a highway for trade and culture. Old kingdoms have always ensured the safety of trade routes and travel through the vast desert trails. For example, the Kingdom of Kanem-Bornu (from the tenth to the nineteenth century AD) extended from Lake Chad to the trade route between Chad and Sudan. It also controlled the road of Fezzan, which served as the main crossing of the desert via the Ténéré. Through their strong state, the Tibu tribes also ensured the security of the movement of individuals and merchants through the desert (Retaillé and Walther 758 H. Hassan 2011). The Tuaregs and their masked men sought to establish cooperative relations with the Hausa peoples on the east side of the Sungai kingdom (Bossard 2014; Benjaminsen 2008). What has happened and led to the transformation of this desert to become a source of imminent danger threatens not only the security and safety of the population of the countries of the region but extends to neighboring countries both near and far? The General Context of the Salafist Jihadist Transformations Any scholar who tries to answer the previous question must go further to understand the factors that have contributed to the proliferation of the culture of violence and recruitment of jihadist Islamic movements in the African Sahel and overall Africa. It is true that there are historical influences related to the development of Islamic discourse in the Arab world and South-East Asia, such as the issues of “Jahiliya,”“Hakemya,” and the “surviving group,” in addition to the political