Islamic religious leaders

Islamic religious leaders have traditionally been persons who, as part of the clerisy, mosque, or government, performed a prominent role within their community or nation. However, in the modern contexts of Muslims minorities in non-Muslim countries as well as secular Muslim states like Turkey, Indonesia and Bangladesh, religious leadership may take a variety of non-formal shapes.

• Ayatollah: (Arabic: آية الله; Persian: آیت‌الله) is a high title given to major Shia clergymen. The word means 'sign of God', and those who carry the title are experts in Islamic sciences such as jurisprudence, ethics, philosophy and mysticism, and usually teach in schools (hawza) of Islamic sciences. Ayatollah's can reach the position of an Marja-e-Taqlid, which allows them to issue fatwa's. Also see Grand Ayatollah.
• Caliph: is the term or title for the Islamic leader of the Ummah, or community of Islam. It is an Anglicized/Latinized version of the Arabic word خليفة or Khalīfah (Sound listen?) which means "successor", that is, successor to the prophet Muhammad. Some Orientalists wrote the title as Khalîf. The Caliph has often been referred to as Ameer al-Mumineen (أمير المؤمنين), or "Prince of the Faithful," where "Prince" is used in the context of "commander." The title has been defunct since the abolition of the Ottoman Sultanate in 1924. Historically selected by committee, the holder of this title claims temporal and spiritual authority over all Muslims, but is not regarded as a possessor of a prophetic mission, as Muhammad is regarded in Islam as the final prophet.
• Imam: is an Arabic word meaning "Leader". The ruler of a country might be called the Imam, for example. The term, however, has important connotations in the Islamic tradition especially in Shia Beliefs . In Sunni belief, the term is used for the founding scholars of the four Sunni madhhabs, or schools of religious jurisprudence (fiqh).
• Mullahs: are Islamic clergy who have studied the Qur'an and the Hadith and are considered experts on related religious matters in this religion.
• Mufti: (Arabic: مفتى) is an Islamic scholar who is an interpreter or expounder of Islamic law (Sharia), capable of issuing fataawa (plural of "fatwa").
• Mujtahid: An interpreter of the Islamic scriptures, the Qur'an and Hadith. These were traditionally Muftis, who used interpretation (Arabic ijtihad) to clarify Islamic law; but in many modern secular contexts, Islamic law is no longer the law of the land. In that case, the traditional Mufti may well be replaced by a university or madrasa professor who informally functions as advisor to the local Muslim community in religious matters such as inheritance, divorce, etc.
• Muezzin: (the word is pronounced this way Turkish, Urdu, etc.; in Arabic: مؤذن) is a servant at the mosque who leads the adhan to Friday service and the five daily prayers, or Salah, from one of the mosque's minarets (in most modern mosques, amplification aids the muezzins).

See also

• Religious leaders by year