Sunni

comparative more Sunni · superlative most Sunni · alternative Sunnī · alternative Sunnee

1. Belonging or relating to the branch of Islam based on the Qur'an, the Kutub al-Sittah (the hadiths which record the Sunnah) and that places emphasis on the Sahabah.

   Many Shias who had become more Sunni in their religious practices reverted back to their original sect.

   2012, Eamon Murphy, The Making of Terrorism in Pakistan: Historical and social roots ..., page 98

   2 more examples

   I therefore strongly advocate the formation of a local capital but not at Hillah, which is too Sunni and near Baghdad

   2001, H. E. Wingate, edited by Alan de Lacy Rush and Jane Priestland, Records of Iraq, 1914-1966, volume 2, page 181

   members […] came to view themselves collectively as the righteous descendants of Husayn confronting an evil and fundamentally alien ruler: a shah more Zoroastrian than Muslim, more Sunni than Shi'i, more Arab than Iranian, more Yazid than Husayn.

   1992, Bruce Lincoln, Discourse and the Construction of Society, page 36

   Synonyms: Sunnite, Sunnitic

plural Sunnis · alternative Sunnī · alternative Sunnee

1. A follower of Sunni Islam.

   Synonyms: Sunnite, Bukharist, Bakri, Sunnist, Nasibi

alternative Sunnī · alternative Sunnee

1. abbreviationellipsisEllipsis of Sunni Islam.

   Sunni is the mainstream religion, based in Mecca, and is generally more moderate.

   2008, John Richard Thackrah, Routledge Companion to Military Conflict since 1945, page 129

   2 more examples

   In Islam, Sunni is a more triumphant version of the faith than Shia, which stresses the importance of suffering, following the founder Ali, who was persecuted.

   1998, Geert H. Hofstede, Masculinity and Femininity: The Taboo Dimension of National Cultures, page 205

   Sunni has four schools of Islamic doctrine and law — Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, and Hanbali — which uniquely interpret the Hadith, or recorded oral traditions of Muhammad.

   2009, Central Intelligence Agency, CIA World Factbook 2010, page xxviii