This article is also available in:
Italiano
“I sunniti” by Massimo Campanini is a small but essential book to get a solid and precise idea about the Sunni world, the most present within the Islamic world
“I sunniti” by Massimo Campanini
About 90% of Muslims recognize themselves in the Sunni religious tradition, which represents “orthodoxy” with respect to the minority Shiite current, which arose from the civil struggles for the succession after the death of the Prophet. In addition to outlining a historical and doctrinal picture of Sunnism, the volume sheds light on the currents agitating the contemporary Sunni world, from the reformist and moderate ones to the conservative and radical ones, to the more extremist ones that have claimed a return to the traditional caliphate.
The foundations of a journey
“I sunniti” by Massimo Campanini is a booklet of about 130 pages which will be able to give you the best smattering possible to enter the world of Islam and in particular in the Sunni world, by detachment the majority within the whole Islamic world. In its essence, this book will lead you to discover the history of post-revelation Islam up to 2016, focusing on some increasingly popular issues in recent years, such as the existence or otherwise of the concept of theocracy in Islam and the various steps that led to the birth of terrorist organizations.
The whole book is extremely interesting and fascinating but I must say that, as a Muslim, the part that I found really enlightening was when it clarified the differences between the 4 madhabs (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi’i and Hanbali), i.e. the 4 legal schools , and those among the main schools of Sunni theological thought. Like any Campanini book, it contains an infinite amount of quotes and information that make this book an excellent starting point for anyone interested in deepening their knowledge of the Sunni world.
The only “lack” is related to a scarce presence of the Sufi world and its schools, but it must be said that, since we are talking about a 130-page book, it has already been a miracle to include all this material. I won’t go into further detail because many of the topics covered here will certainly be analyzed better in the future with specific articles dedicated to them, but I strongly suggest you buy this text.
Follow me on facebook, Spotify, YouTube and Instagram, or on the Telegram channel; find all the links in one place: here. Every like, share or support is welcome and helps me to devote myself more and more to my passion: telling the story of the Middle East and the “Islamic world”. A crowdfunfing will be active from 1 January 2023
