LogFAQs > #903659877

I don't know much about Islam, but no. They don't believe you need intermediaries in order to communicate with a higher power, and therefore they are not comparable to the structure Catholicism has.

High-ranking Muslims are usually intrinsically linked with systems of law in theocratic countries. I'm pretty sure the Pope would not be described as being much of a "judge," but Islamic leaders are the ultimate enforcers/teachers of religious dogma. As such, you have to look at the legal systems of Islamic countries.

In that sense, they are more comparable to Jewish rabbis or certain isolationist protestant sects of Christianity who have elders that enforce the religious law of the community, but it's on a much larger scale with power funneled through a larger chain of command for obvious reasons.

That said, I don't know much about it and I could be wrong.

Edit: This goes over the basics:
http://aboutislam.net/counseling/ask-about-islam/islams-structure-religious-authority/
---

Hi