Quote:
Originally Posted by Manitou
Well, take this for example. There are many more pros and cons, if you look:
Clergy in Islam |
I'm trying to figure out why this is an issue....?
The article defines the role of clergy as: "The role of the clergy, as it is commonly understood, is to intercede between God and the faithful." and goes on to say how in Islam, that intercession does not exist.
The dictionary defines clergy as: the group or body of
ordained persons in a religion, as distinguished from the laity. It also defines ordained as: to invest with ministerial or sacerdotal functions; confer holy orders upon. That certainly describes how clergy are in the Catholic Church and I'm guessing most other Christian denominations. I don't know about Rabbi's and I don't know about Imams but, it's easy to look up.
According to wikipedia Imam's do not seem to function like Christian clerg - they are not "ordained" in any way, and and seem function as recognized religious authorities or scholars of Islam or even simply nothing more than the one who leads the prayers. It would seem to be a title of respect rather than a title of a function or job.
Given that, it seems that it's correct to say they have no clergy, yes?