Ayatollahs are spiritual leaders of the Shi‘ite Muslim minority sect. Islam is very much less institutionalized and hierarchically ordered than most Christian denominations, and it is not possible to make a direct equivalent to the role of, for...

Ayatollah (Arabic: آية الله; Persian: آيت‌الله); is a high ranking title given to Shi'a clerics. The word means "Sign of God" and those who carry the title are experts in Islamic studies such as jurisprudence, ethics, and philosophy and...