From Arabic سُنِّيّ (sunniyy), from سُنَّة (sunna, “Sunna”) + ـِيّ (-iyy). By surface analysis, Sunna + -i.
Meanings
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.
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:
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:
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:
hi सुन्नी (related to the Sunni branch of Islam) · es suní (related to the Sunni branch of Islam) · fa-cls سُنِّی (related to the Sunni branch of Islam) · et sunniitlik (related to the Sunni branch of Islam) · bn সুন্নি (related to the Sunni branch of Islam) · ar سُنِّيّ (related to the Sunni branch of Islam) · kk сүнни (related to the Sunni branch of Islam) · fr sunnite (related to the Sunni branch of Islam) · ka სუნიტური (related to the Sunni branch of Islam) · de sunnitisch (related to the Sunni branch of Islam) · ru сунни́тский (related to the Sunni branch of Islam) · hi चारयारी (related to the Sunni branch of Islam) · mk сунитски (related to the Sunni branch of Islam) · pt sunita (related to the Sunni branch of Islam) · pl sunnicki (related to the Sunni branch of Islam) · hu szunnita (related to the Sunni branch of Islam) · fa-ira سُنّی (related to the Sunni branch of Islam) · es sunní (related to the Sunni branch of Islam) · nl soennitisch (related to the Sunni branch of Islam) · fi sunnilainen (related to the Sunni branch of Islam) · tr Sünni (related to the Sunni branch of Islam) · kmr sinî (related to the Sunni branch of Islam) · sl sunitski (related to the Sunni branch of Islam) · tg суннӣ (related to the Sunni branch of Islam) · be суні́цкі (related to the Sunni branch of Islam) · ur سُنِّی (related to the Sunni branch of Islam) · hi चहार (related to the Sunni branch of Islam) · ca sunnita (related to the Sunni branch of Islam) · cs sunnitský (related to the Sunni branch of Islam) · uk суні́тський (related to the Sunni branch of Islam)
kk сүнни (follower of Sunni Islam) · ar سُنِّيّ (follower of Sunni Islam) · fi sunni (follower of Sunni Islam) · es suní (follower of Sunni Islam) · ja スンニ (follower of Sunni Islam) · kk сүнни мұсылман (follower of Sunni Islam) · tr Sünni (follower of Sunni Islam) · pl sunnita (follower of Sunni Islam) · tg суннӣ (follower of Sunni Islam) · ar سُنِّيَّة (follower of Sunni Islam) · cs sunnita (follower of Sunni Islam) · cmn 遜尼 /逊尼 (follower of Sunni Islam) · ky сүннөтчү (follower of Sunni Islam) · fr sunnite (follower of Sunni Islam) · de Sunnit (follower of Sunni Islam) · kmr sinî (follower of Sunni Islam) · fa-cls سُنِّی (follower of Sunni Islam) · fi sunnalainen (follower of Sunni Islam) · mr सुन्नी (follower of Sunni Islam) · da sunni (follower of Sunni Islam) · uk суні́т (follower of Sunni Islam) · mk сунит (follower of Sunni Islam) · hi चारयारी (follower of Sunni Islam) · hi चहार (follower of Sunni Islam) · fi sunnilainen (follower of Sunni Islam) · fa-ira سُنّی (follower of Sunni Islam) · sl sunit (follower of Sunni Islam) · es sunní (follower of Sunni Islam) · pt sunita (follower of Sunni Islam) · bn সুন্নি (follower of Sunni Islam) · ca sunnita (follower of Sunni Islam) · nl soenniet (follower of Sunni Islam) · pl sunnitka (follower of Sunni Islam) · ru сунни́т (follower of Sunni Islam) · hi सुन्नी (follower of Sunni Islam) · de Sunnite (follower of Sunni Islam)
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:
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: