Sunni Islam


Sunni Islam is a denomination of Islam. Followers of the Sunni tradition are
known as Sunnis or Sunnites.

In Islam political disagreements have usually manifested themselves as
religious disagreements; the earliest example of this is that 30 years after
Muhammed's death, the Islamic community plunged into a civil war that gave
rise to three sects. One proximal cause of this first civil war was that the
Muslims of Iraq and Egypt resented the power of the third Caliph and his
governors; another cause was business rivalries between factions of the
mercantile aristocracy. After the Caliph was murdered, war broke out in full
force between different groups, each fighting for power. The war ended with
a new dynasty of Caliphs who rules from Damascus.

One of the groups to evolve from this conflict was the Sunnis. They hold
themselves as the followers of the sunna (practice) of the community a
whole. They were willing to recognize the authority of the Caliphs, who
maintained rule by law and persuasion, and by force if necessary. The sunnis
became the largest division of Islam.

Two smaller groups also were created from this schism: The Shi'ites and the
Kharijites (Khawarij), also known as the seceders. The Shi'ites believed
that the only legitimate leadership rested in the lineage of Muhammed's
cousin and son-in-law, 'Ali. The Shi'ites believed that the rest of the
Muslim community committed a grave error by electing Abu Bakr and his two
successors as leaders.

A third group came into being which rejected the Sunni and Shi'ite
positions; they maintained that the community had the right to elect its own
head, and even should have the power to depose of bad leaders. This group
held that leadership should be based on Islamic scholarship and the will of
the people, and not on inherited power. This group was labeled by other
Muslims as Kharijites, or the Khawarij (seceders).