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Sunni
OED Definition:
In plural (originally used collectively). The Muslims who collectively form the larger of the two main branches of Islam, which differs from Shia in its understanding of the Sunnah, its conception of religious leadership, and its acceptance of the first three caliphs.
Also in singular: a Muslim who follows this branch of Islam.
How this term should be used
Journalists should use Sunni (rather than Sunnite), refer to Sunnism as a mainstream branch of Islam, and treat Sunnis as Muslims, in a similar way to how Catholics are treated as Christians.
Journalists should avoid using Sunni as a descriptor for “terrorist” or “extremist” as it is not the Sunni belief that is the driver for terrorism or extremism, and as such is not relevant. The argument here mirrors the well accepted notion that using ethnicity to describe the perpetrator of a crime is not appropriate unless it is argued to be directly relevant. We therefore rarely see “white”, “black” or “Asian” as descriptors for paedophiles, rapists or thieves whether or not such an ethnic description is accurate.
As such, in the case where sectarianism is identified as a driver in political proxy wars or persecution, it should not be assumed to be the driver unless there is evidence to support that assertion, in which case the evidence should be shared.
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and is followed by about 85 percent of the world’s Muslims. According to Sunni Islam, Muhammad did not name his successor and thus, the Caliphate began after his death with the election of Abu-Bakr.
Shi’a Muslims, by contrast, believe that Muhammad clearly named his son-in-law, Ali as his successor. The divide between Sunnism and Shiism began as a political one but over time, acquired a religious dimension.
Usage in Context
Example 1:
| Country/date | GB (16-01-21) |
| Title | Syria civil war: Assad regime accuses Israel of being ‘al-Qaeda’s air … |
| Source | http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/syria-civil-war-assad-regime-accuses-israel-of-being-al-qaeda-s-air-force-as-conflict-edges-closer-a6826306.html |
Excerpt:
Israel’s leadership has warned about the looming threat,but seems uncertain about who is the most potent enemy, Sunni Isis or Shia Hezbollah. Speaking at a security conference in Tel Aviv, President Reuven Rivlin declared that the enemy is no longer just at the gate, but inside it, and it is Isis.
Here the writer refers to ISIS as a Sunni entity, even though the group is held in opprobrium by virtually every authority in the Sunni Muslim world, from the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, to the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar. Furthermore, a number of Sunni scholars have labelled ISIS a deviant organisation, fundamentally un-Islamic in outlook and ideology. Therefore, the use of the term “Sunni” here is, is at best, a lazy imposition of sect as the main driver of a proxy war with wider political drivers; but is also implying there is something specifically Sunni about Daesh and something specifically Shi’a about Hezbollah that makes their inclusion relevant in this report.
Example 2:
| Country/date | GB (17-04-10) |
| Title | Chemical weapons attack latest in litany of Syria atrocities |
| Source | http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap/article-4399110/Chemical-weapons-attack-latest-litany-Syria-atrocities.html |
Excerpt:
Assad is an Alawite, an offshoot of Shiite Islam, and he has crafted the image of his government as a bulwark against Sunni terrorism. Though the initial protests against him represented a cross-section of Syrian society, the spiraling sectarian violence in 2012 and 2013 fractured the country along religious lines, and now opposition forces are dominated by Sunnis.
Here – in paraphrasing what he believes to be Bashar al-Assad’s position, the writer uses the term “Sunni terrorism”, when the Sunni-ness is not a driver for the terrorism and in fact, the leading Sunni scholars have been vociferous in their condemnation of terrorism.