One of fundamental features of the Islamic religious system is that there is no equivalent of "church"—no religious institution with doctrinal or legal authority, no ordained priesthood, no sacred/profane dichotomy, no doctrinally sanctioned "official truth." How do you become an Imam? Is there a class, a school, or something? Given that there is no institutionalized clergy in Islam, how does the religious system work? What is the nature of religious leadership in Islam? What is the role of the state in religious matters? What are the fundamental consequences of the absence of ordained and institutionalized priestly orders in Islam: Political consequences? Sectarian consequences? Do you think that the test for a true Muslim is not that he or she remains faithful to an "orthodoxy," but that he or she is loyal to the community—that is, the test is not theological but social?

All praise be to Allah, and may his peace and blessings be on the last and best prophet and messenger, Muhammad.

 

Whether you are Muslim or not, I deeply thank you for your interest in learning about Islam.

 

As you indicated, Muslim scholars don`t claim inspiration by the Supreme. They use evidence from the revelation (the Quran, which is God`s last testament, and Sunnah, which is the traditions of the last Prophet) and rational proofs. The one who can better substantiate his claims with the evidence is the one Muslims are required to follow his/her opinion. The consensus of the Muslim scholars is, however, considered evidence, since God protects the nation from agreeing on falsehood. That consensus is only attainable regarding matters that are very clear, such as the prohibition of wine and other intoxicants.

To become an Imam, you will need to be the most learned in the religion amongst your respective congregation. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace) said: "The Imam of a people should be the one who is most versed in the book of Allah; if they are equal in their recital then, the one who is most knowledgeable of the sunnah; if they are equal in the sunnah then, it is the one who migrated first if they are equal in that, then the eldest." (Reported by Muslim from Abi Masood)

Thus, imamate is a position acquired through knowledge and dedication.  As to the way to acquiring knowledge, it greatly varies. You may learn in the traditional way under reputable scholars or join an Islamic university, such as Al-Azhar, in Cairo, Egypt the Islamic University in Madinah, SaudiArabia, Islamabad, Pakistan or Malaysia…etc.

After you finish your degree, you don`t automatically become an imam until the congregation feels that you are qualified and choose you to lead them in prayers. Many scholars are not imams (they don`t lead people in prayers): some because they don`t have the talents, and others, because they are busy with other jobs, including teaching.

Within the "clergy" you ascend in recognition by others through your services, your publications…etc., however, there is no hierarchy.   In addition, there are religious councils, mostly called fiqh assemblies, which discuss legal matters that require the concerted efforts of many scholars and experts of various fields (for example, if they discuss cloning, they invite physicians and scientists to the discussion).

The current states often hire scholars to handle the legal edicts (fatwas) of importance, and that is the reality, not the ideal system, in which scholars should be independent from the state. Throughout the Islamic history, scholars have taken an independent position from the rulers, and at times an oppositional one. Muslim scholars, in general, have never sided with the state against the people, or the values of the religion; that is, bearing in mind that every rule has exceptions.

The exceptions in these cases would be individual deviations.

 

The result of the lack of ordained priesthood is overwhelmingly positive, even though, at times it seems to have negative consequences.

One of the positive consequences is the intellectual freedom it affords, because no one speaks on behalf of God.

In addition, the lack of ordained priesthood protected the religion from being under the control of a few elite clergy.

Henceforth, clergy are more likely to be exploited by the rulers if the "ultimate truth" was thought to be possessed by their upper cast.

The clergy is not immune from criticism and being faulted, as was, and may be still, the case in other religions. They are accountable and answerable to their congregation. Any one from the congregation may contest the position of the imam and all they need to do is to present their evidence from the revelation or through reasoning.  In fact, it was reported that a woman stood in the Mosque and contested the position of Omar, the second caliph in the middle of his speech, and he did nothing but accept her position and recede from his own.

The lack of distinction between the "men of God" and the "men of this world" in Islam, where all are supposed to be of this world serving the cause of God protected the religion from being regarded by the public as the property of the clergy.

All Muslims feel they are all responsible for the religion, which is theirs`, not someone else`s. This is also more conducive to equality and the absence of a barrier between the so called "clergy" and the so called "public". The Muslim scholars are part of the public and the public aspires to earn more knowledge to become scholars.

As for sectarianism, that is present in all religions, however, the Muslims` record in dealing with the matter is better than many others. For example, the different Muslim sects along with so many other religions were able to peacefully coexist in the Middle East while the Crusaders were moving to crush the heretics in France and while the thirty-year war was harvesting the lives of thousands of Europeans fighting a religiously motivated war between different Christian sects, namely, Catholics and Protestants.

This doesn`t mean Muslims never fought against one another, but when they did it was mostly politically motivated. Even the current violence between the Sunnis and Shi`as in Iraq is obviously politically motivated.

 On the other side, Muslims must respect their scholars and follow the learned men to avoid chaos and misinterpretation of the religion. Unfortunately, the many decades or centuries that Muslims were under occupation by imperial entities did to an extent, and mainly through the work of the occupiers undermine the authority of the scholars in many parts of the Muslim lands, and led to what we can monitor nowadays to be somewhat of anarchy. Yet, this is – God Willing – a brief stage that is necessary for the nation to go through prior to the delivery of the better system, in which the scholars will maintain their independence from the rulers which is necessary for the public to trust them (that doesn`t mean there are no scholars trusted by the public nowadays) and continue the heritage of intellectual freedom and positive discourse, where religious authority belongs to the evidence not the clergy.

 

I hope I was able to answer your questions in a way that is satisfying to you, otherwise, please contact me for any further clarifications.

Allah knows best.