Shia clergy

In Shi'a Islam the guidance of clergy (collectively called the ulema) and keeping such a structure holds great importance. There are several branches of Shi'ism, of which Twelver Shi'ism is by far the largest, and each of the branches has different clergy structures. Individual clerics are referred to as ''mullā'' or ''ākhūnd'', but since those terms have developed "a somewhat pejorative connotation" since at least the 1980s, the term ''rūḥānī'' has been "promoted" as an alternative, "especially by the clerical class itself". Provided by Wikipedia