Shia clergy

In Shi'a Islam the guidance of clergy (collectively called the ulema) and keeping such a structure holds a great importance. There are several branches of Shi'ism, of which Twelver Shi'ism is by far the largest, and each of the branches have 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". Twelver Among the different schools of Twelver Shi'i Islam are Usooli and Akhbari. In the late 18th and early 19th century the Usooli "triumphed" over the Akhbari Twelver. Usooli Shia argued that "since only someone who has expended the time and effort to become a mujtahid could possibly know all the details of religious observances and law", it was obligatory for "anyone who was not himself a mujtahid to follow the rulings" of one so as to avoid committing religious errors. They believe the 12th Imam, ordered them to follow the scholars (Fuqaha) who: "...guard their soul, protect their religion, and follow the commandments of their master (Allah)..." Consequently, the Usooli Shia community is divided into mujtahid (those who follow their own independent judgement in religious law) and muqallid (those who must follow the rulings of a mujtahid). The practice of following a mujtahid is called taqlid. Because of this, it can be said that clergy in the Usooli Twelver Shi'a have exerted much more authority in their religious community than the Sunni ulema (or Akhbari Shi'i ulema) in theirs. Also as a consequence of the dominance of Usooli Shi'ism, mujtahid have risen in both importance and number. Up until the mid-19th century there were "three or four" mujtahid "anywhere at any one time"; by the end of the century there were several hundred. Also during the 19th century, improvements in communication technology gave a higher profile to the most eminent mujtahids, as "important or controversial questions" no longer had to be left to local mujtahids.