Imam
noun
In Islam, an imam is a worship leader or a leading figure, often leading the prayer or providing guidance.
The imam at our local mosque is a highly respected figure in the community.
Often appears as...
- lead imam
- imam of the mosque
noun
Imam in Shi'a Islam is a title given to certain successors of Prophet Muhammad who have the spiritual and temporal leadership of the Muslim community.
Shiites believe Imams are infallible and have a divine right to lead.
Often appears as...
- shiite imam
- imam successor
Usage tips
Academic
noun
In Islam, an imam is a worship leader or a leading figure, often leading the prayer or providing guidance.
The imam at our local mosque is a highly respected figure in the community.
Often appears as...
- lead imam
- imam of the mosque
noun
Imam in Shi'a Islam is a title given to certain successors of Prophet Muhammad who have the spiritual and temporal leadership of the Muslim community.
Shiites believe Imams are infallible and have a divine right to lead.
Often appears as...
- shiite imam
- imam successor
Usage tips
Academic
Definition 1 of 2
Pro Tip 1/3Prayer Leader
The imam often leads the congregation in prayer, especially the important Friday prayers.
When it's time to pray, the imam steps forward to lead.
Pro Tip 2/3Community Respect
Imams are usually well-respected and have authority in their communities; respect towards them is important.
People often seek the imam for advice.
Pro Tip 3/3Not a Priest
Unlike a priest, an imam does not necessarily hold a formal clergy position, but is recognized for their knowledge and leadership.
He's not ordained, but as an imam, he is knowledgeable about religious matters.
Pro Tip 1/3Prayer Leader
The imam often leads the congregation in prayer, especially the important Friday prayers.
When it's time to pray, the imam steps forward to lead.
Pro Tip 2/3Community Respect
Imams are usually well-respected and have authority in their communities; respect towards them is important.
People often seek the imam for advice.
Pro Tip 3/3Not a Priest
Unlike a priest, an imam does not necessarily hold a formal clergy position, but is recognized for their knowledge and leadership.
He's not ordained, but as an imam, he is knowledgeable about religious matters.
Pro Tip 1/3Prayer Leader
The imam often leads the congregation in prayer, especially the important Friday prayers.
When it's time to pray, the imam steps forward to lead.
Pro Tip 2/3Community Respect
Imams are usually well-respected and have authority in their communities; respect towards them is important.
People often seek the imam for advice.
Pro Tip 3/3Not a Priest
Unlike a priest, an imam does not necessarily hold a formal clergy position, but is recognized for their knowledge and leadership.
He's not ordained, but as an imam, he is knowledgeable about religious matters.
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Video examples
Street Art for Hope and...
coming from the side that we don't usually portray in a good way in the media. I was amazed to see how the local community reacted to the painting, and how it made them proud to see the minaret getting so much attention from international press all around the world. For the imam, it was not just the painting;
Video examples
What it's like to be a...
But when you look at them, they're not motivated by what they read in their holy book. It's their brutality that makes them read these things into the scripture. Recently, a prominent imam told me a story that really took me aback. He said that a girl came to him
Video examples
The secret US prisons...
Aref is an imam and he was asked to bear witness to a loan, which is a tradition in Islamic culture. It turned out that one of the people involved in the loan was trying to enlist someone else in a fake attack. Aref didn't know. For that, he was convicted
Video examples
Bobby Ghosh: Why global...
A year ago I was in Tunis, and I met the imam of a very small mosque, an old man. Fifteen years ago, he named his granddaughter Jihad, after the old meaning. He hoped that a name like that would inspire her to live a spiritual life.
Video examples
How deepfakes undermine...
You can imagine that that deepfake would provoke violence against those soldiers. And what if the very next day there's another deepfake that drops, that shows a well-known imam based in London praising the attack on those soldiers?
Video examples
Kavita Ramdas: Radical...
to speak to those whose support and assistance are critical for this work. When I had to open the school in the refugee camp, I went to see the imam. I told him, 'I'm a believer, and women and children in these terrible conditions
Video examples
Why women should tell...
because that's an attitude that I've seen continuously all my life as a theater maker. We are told that divine knowledge comes down through the masculine, whether it be to the imam, the priest, the rabbi, the holy man.
Video examples
My descent into...
but finally we got there, and when I knocked on the door, the imam said he only had 15 minutes left for us, because he was preparing for a prayer service. I said, "We'll take it." We went in,
Video examples
Why people of different...
And for some it was simply to build neighborhood solidarity in advance of feared election violence. When asked why yellow, one imam beautifully said, "Yellow is the color of the sun.
Video examples
Who is God? PIPE A Pastor,...
okay so stop me if you've heard this a rabbi a pastor and an imam walk into a
Video examples
Street Art for Hope and...
coming from the side that we don't usually portray in a good way in the media. I was amazed to see how the local community reacted to the painting, and how it made them proud to see the minaret getting so much attention from international press all around the world. For the imam, it was not just the painting;
Video examples
What it's like to be a...
But when you look at them, they're not motivated by what they read in their holy book. It's their brutality that makes them read these things into the scripture. Recently, a prominent imam told me a story that really took me aback. He said that a girl came to him
Video examples
The secret US prisons...
Aref is an imam and he was asked to bear witness to a loan, which is a tradition in Islamic culture. It turned out that one of the people involved in the loan was trying to enlist someone else in a fake attack. Aref didn't know. For that, he was convicted
Video examples
Bobby Ghosh: Why global...
A year ago I was in Tunis, and I met the imam of a very small mosque, an old man. Fifteen years ago, he named his granddaughter Jihad, after the old meaning. He hoped that a name like that would inspire her to live a spiritual life.
Video examples
How deepfakes undermine...
You can imagine that that deepfake would provoke violence against those soldiers. And what if the very next day there's another deepfake that drops, that shows a well-known imam based in London praising the attack on those soldiers?
Video examples
Kavita Ramdas: Radical...
to speak to those whose support and assistance are critical for this work. When I had to open the school in the refugee camp, I went to see the imam. I told him, 'I'm a believer, and women and children in these terrible conditions
Video examples
Why women should tell...
because that's an attitude that I've seen continuously all my life as a theater maker. We are told that divine knowledge comes down through the masculine, whether it be to the imam, the priest, the rabbi, the holy man.
Video examples
My descent into...
but finally we got there, and when I knocked on the door, the imam said he only had 15 minutes left for us, because he was preparing for a prayer service. I said, "We'll take it." We went in,
Video examples
Why people of different...
And for some it was simply to build neighborhood solidarity in advance of feared election violence. When asked why yellow, one imam beautifully said, "Yellow is the color of the sun.
Video examples
Who is God? PIPE A Pastor,...
okay so stop me if you've heard this a rabbi a pastor and an imam walk into a
Example 1 of 10
Quote examples
Peter T. King
American Politician
And if the imam and the Muslim leadership in that community is so intent on building bridges, then they should voluntarily move the mosque away from ground zero and move it whether it's uptown or somewhere else, but move it away from that area, the same as the pope directed the Carmelite nuns to move a convent away from Auschwitz.
Quote examples
Amiri Baraka
American Poet
The man who buried Malcolm X - my Muslim imam, priest - he, after I got beat up by police... came to me, and he said, 'You don't need this American name.' And I was susceptible to it at the time because, God knows, I had just gotten whipped near to death. So he gave me an Arab name; he gave me the name Amir Barakat.
Quote examples
Hakeem Olajuwon
Nigerian Athlete
Allah says in the Qur'an not to despise one another. So the criterion in Islam is not color or social status. It's who is most righteous. If I go to a mosque - and I'm a basketball player with money and prestige - if I go to a mosque and see an imam, I feel inferior. He's better than me. It's about knowledge.
Quote examples
K. A. Paul
American Clergyman
Does the imam have a legal right to build the mosque at Ground Zero? The answer is yes. But is it the right thing to do? The answer is no. And most Americans, and most moderate Muslims, join with me in that call.
Quote examples
Ralph Peters
American Soldier
Imam Rauf and his backers have every legal right to build their extravagant Islamic center within the lethal radius of Ground Zero. But the rest of us have the right to question why they insist on doing so.
Quote examples
Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Dutch Politician
Even with protection, even with death threats, I can publish, I can travel and I can live the life that I want and not the one my parents want or some imam somewhere thinks I should live.
Quote examples
Muammar al-Gaddafi
Libyan Leader
I am an international leader, the dean of the Arab rulers, the king of kings of Africa and the imam of Muslims, and my international status does not allow me to descend to a lower level.
Quote examples
Cat Stevens
British Musician
My imam at the Central Mosque said there was no problem with making music. In fact, he encouraged me - he said if the songs are moral, not offensive, then go ahead.
Quote examples
Eve
American Musician
God is my best friend. I talk to God every day. And no one can tell me how to talk to God - not no imam, not no priest, not no rabbi, no pastor.
Quote examples
Pim Fortuyn
Dutch Politician
An imam should be able to say that homosexuals are worse than pigs. My only demand is that you mustn't incite violence.
Quote examples
Peter T. King
American Politician
And if the imam and the Muslim leadership in that community is so intent on building bridges, then they should voluntarily move the mosque away from ground zero and move it whether it's uptown or somewhere else, but move it away from that area, the same as the pope directed the Carmelite nuns to move a convent away from Auschwitz.
Quote examples
Amiri Baraka
American Poet
The man who buried Malcolm X - my Muslim imam, priest - he, after I got beat up by police... came to me, and he said, 'You don't need this American name.' And I was susceptible to it at the time because, God knows, I had just gotten whipped near to death. So he gave me an Arab name; he gave me the name Amir Barakat.
Quote examples
Hakeem Olajuwon
Nigerian Athlete
Allah says in the Qur'an not to despise one another. So the criterion in Islam is not color or social status. It's who is most righteous. If I go to a mosque - and I'm a basketball player with money and prestige - if I go to a mosque and see an imam, I feel inferior. He's better than me. It's about knowledge.
Quote examples
K. A. Paul
American Clergyman
Does the imam have a legal right to build the mosque at Ground Zero? The answer is yes. But is it the right thing to do? The answer is no. And most Americans, and most moderate Muslims, join with me in that call.
Quote examples
Ralph Peters
American Soldier
Imam Rauf and his backers have every legal right to build their extravagant Islamic center within the lethal radius of Ground Zero. But the rest of us have the right to question why they insist on doing so.
Quote examples
Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Dutch Politician
Even with protection, even with death threats, I can publish, I can travel and I can live the life that I want and not the one my parents want or some imam somewhere thinks I should live.
Quote examples
Muammar al-Gaddafi
Libyan Leader
I am an international leader, the dean of the Arab rulers, the king of kings of Africa and the imam of Muslims, and my international status does not allow me to descend to a lower level.
Quote examples
Cat Stevens
British Musician
My imam at the Central Mosque said there was no problem with making music. In fact, he encouraged me - he said if the songs are moral, not offensive, then go ahead.
Quote examples
Eve
American Musician
God is my best friend. I talk to God every day. And no one can tell me how to talk to God - not no imam, not no priest, not no rabbi, no pastor.
Quote examples
Pim Fortuyn
Dutch Politician
An imam should be able to say that homosexuals are worse than pigs. My only demand is that you mustn't incite violence.
Example 1 of 10
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