Ibrahim az-Zakzaky and the Islamic Movement of Nigeria

The article examines the history of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IDN), a Shiite religious organization founded by Ibrahim al-Zakzaki in Zaria in Northern Nigeria. IDM consider itself as an independent socio-political actor that does not recognize the legitimacy of the official government of the country. It is shown that the purpose of the IDN is to create a theocratic Islamic state in Nigeria. IDN is most active not only in the northern states of the country, but has also found supporters in neighboring countries – Niger, Cameroon, Chad, Burkina Faso, Ghana. The birth of the Movement and its rapid expansion coincided with the Iranian Revolution of 1979, the ideals of which were promoted by the leaders of the IDN. Over the more than 40-year history of its presence in Nigeria, this organization has been able to achieve a fairly broad support of the population, and the share of its members in the 2010’s was up to 17% of all Muslims in the country. Having originated in the university environment, IDN initially recruited representatives of the educated elite, dissatisfied with social injustice, government corruption and lack of ways of self-realization. Subsequently, by promoting the corresponding egalitarian ideals, IDM attracted broad segments of the population. This was facilitated by the experience of successful implementation of socially significant projects in rural areas. Financial and methodological support in the implementation of various IDN projects, including educational ones, was provided by Iran through various channels. The growing popularity of the Movement, coupled with its politicization, became the main reason for its ban by the Nigerian government. At the same time, the authorities, judging by such decisive steps, saw serious political risks in the existence of the IDM, perceived as an agent of foreign policy influence – in addition to the legal ban, it also used repressive tools to suppress this organization. Despite the efforts of the Nigerian authorities, the IDM continues its "underground" existence. The authors consider that the strategy chosen by the official authorities – control of the activities of foreign states in Nigeria and the repression of IDM members – turned out to be ineffective, and deradicalization and depoliticization of this organization is possible only through solving social problems.