Islamic religious leaders Islamic religious leaders Islamic religious leaders have traditionally been people 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 secularised Muslim states like Turkey, Indonesia and Bangladesh, religious leadership may take a variety of non-formal shapes. Compared to religious leaders/clerics of the other Abrahamic faiths, Islamic clergy are said to resemble rabbis and not priests. Unlike Catholic priests they do not "serve as intermediaries between mankind and God", have "process of ordination", or "sacramental functions", but instead
Persecutions of the Catholic Church and Pius XII within the country. Because of rival interpretations the concordat was enacted ten years later in 1940. In 1948, the Communist government withdrew from the concordat and closed most Catholic institutes. Only two small dioceses were permitted to continue, the others were considered non-existent. The six united bishops and several Latin rite bishops were jailed to long sentences. All schools were closed, Catholic activities were outlawed. Bulgaria became a People's Republic on 15 October 1946. The new constitution of 1947 limited religious activities. Massive Church persecution followed. The Church lost all its bishops, organizations, religious institutes. Most of the priests and