 After the civil war of 2006 it is now nearly totally Sunni in its religious composition.The base of the population consists of people with a high intellectual background, whether it be politicians, artists, scholars and even sports figures.The name is a reference to Abū Ḥanīfah an-Nuʿmān, known as "al-Imām al-Aʿẓam" (, "The Great Imam"), a renowned scholar and founder of the prominent Sunni Hanafī school of Islamic religious jurisprudence.