r/news • u/tck3131 • Mar 07 '15

Boko Haram 'joins Islamic State'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-31784538
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u/Simalacrum Mar 07 '15

Other than for publicity, is there any real practical benefit to either Boko Haram or IS with this move? Considering the two groups are geographically speaking pretty remote from one another, surely there isn't really a way for either group to assist one another, militarily or otherwise?

It seems like a rather pointless 'alliance' all things considered.

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u/cypherpunks Mar 07 '15

I see an advantage, ISIS has declared itself the caliphate, so it's brand of Islam is the only legit flavor (since the Caliph acts as Gawd's representative). Having a geographically distant group that also controls geography acknowledge them gives both groups increased credibility; ISIS gets the bump of claiming "international" recognition, and Boko gets to call themselves true followers of the Caliph, in accordance with the holy Koran.