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
The Church of God (Charleston, Tennessee) that the selection process was a departure from what had historically been perceived as "theocratic government" within the body's governing structure and procedure. In 1993, this group which at the time referred to themselves as "The Concerned" called for a "solemn assembly", borrowing an Old Testament term for corporate devotion to prayer to rhetorically emphasize its earnestness. The "solemn assembly" resulted in the formation of The Church of God. The church places particular emphasis upon the word "The" in its title as a statement of this reorganization, believing it is the singular exclusive embodiment of the New Testament Christian church.