FOUNDED: 632 C.E.
RELIGION AS A PERCENTAGE OF WORLD POPULATION: 15 percent

Overview

Sunnism is the largest branch of Islam, representing more than 80 percent of all Muslims. The word itself derives from the Arabic sunnah, which means "accepted or established practice."

Sunnis claim that they represent the traditional, common understanding of Islam proclaimed by the prophet Muhammad ibn Abdullah (c. 570–632 C.E.), who founded Islam. As such, they differentiate themselves from the Shiites, the other major branch of Islam. Sunnism focuses on the collective will of the group, emphasizing consensus on religious, social, political, legal, and doctrinal issues.

After its founding in the seventh century C.E. Sunnism became entrenched as the religion of the expanding Islamic empire in the Middle East. It initially spread through state conquest, but eventually immigrants, merchants, and Sufi adherents carried its distinctive message eastward to Southeast Asia and China and westward to Africa...