A Primer on Boko Haram Sources and Three Heuristics on alQaida and Boko Haram in Response to Adam Higazi, Brandon Kendhammer, Kyari Mohammed, Marc-Antoine Pérouse de Montclos, and Alex Thurston

The April 2018 issue of Perspectives on Terrorism included a special correspondence by  Adam Higazi, Brandon Kendhammer, Kyari Mohammed, Marc-Antoine Pérouse de Montclos, and Alex Thurston in which the authors were critical of Jacob Zenn’s article about Boko Haram that had been published in the December 2017 issue of our journal. The Editorial Board believes that the competing narratives in the research on Boko Haram (predominantly local vs. strongly influenced from abroad) can and should be debated in a healthy manner. However, upon reflection, the Editors acknowledge that the April 2018 piece criticizing Jacob Zenn’s article also contained some allegations regarding Mr. Zenn as a person, detracting from the level of scholarly discourse we strive for in Perspectives on Terrorism. In the current issue, we provide Mr. Zenn with an opportunity to respond to his critics, focused specifically on how the evidence he has collected supports his analysis. We invite readers to have a look at his evidence and the evidence of his critics and judge for themselves their respective merits.