What is Sunni Islam?
{{Sunni Islam}}{{Islam}}[[File:Islam by country.png|thumb|Countries with more than 5% Muslims in the total population. Sunnis are shown in shades of green, Shiites in shades of red. Shiites may be under-represented, because they do not always show up in statistics. The same applies to other Islamic movements.]]'''Sunni Islam''' ({{lang-ar|أَهْلُ السُّنَّةِ}}) is the largest branch of [[Islam]]. They are the branch of Islam that came through the [[Rashidun Empire]], which started with [[Abu Bakr]] and ended by [[Ali|Ali ibn Abi Talib]]. Sunni beliefs are based on the [[Quran]] and the [[Kutub al-Sittah]]. Sunnis make up around 90% of the world's Muslim population.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.politicsdaily.com/2008/03/31/islam-rivals-catholicism-as-worlds-largest-religion/ |title=Politicsdaily.com |access-date=2009-09-23 |archive-date=2012-01-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111172608/http://www.politicsdaily.com/2008/03/31/islam-rivals-catholicism-as-worlds-largest-religion/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>[http://www.galesburg.com/newsnow/x917961022/Sue-Hulett-U-S-should-focus-on-sanctions-against-Iran Sue Hellett; U.S. should focus on sanctions against Iran] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120317195234/http://www.galesburg.com/newsnow/x917961022/Sue-Hulett-U-S-should-focus-on-sanctions-against-Iran |date=2012-03-17 }} retrieved 13 December 2012</ref><ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16047709 Quick guide] retrieved 13 December 2012</ref> With approximately 1.8 billion followers, it is the largest religious denomination of any religion in the world.<ref>Religious Diversity and Children's Literature: Strategies and Resources, Sandra Brenneman Oldendorf - 2011, p 156</ref> [[Catholicism]] is the second-largest. There are four sub-groups ([[Madh'hab]])s within Sunni Islam; [[Maliki]]<nowiki/>s, [[Hanafi]]<nowiki/>s, [[Hanbali]]<nowiki/>s and [[Shafi'i]]<nowiki/>s. Adherents of Sunni Islam are '''Sunnis''' or '''Sunnites'''. The word ''Sunni'' comes from the word [[