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Photo: Sergej Marsnjak -- A common misconception many people have who are not familiar with Iran and in particular the Iranian state religion, Shia Islam, is that the term "Imam" or "Emam" as it's pronounced in Persian, represents the title of the Islamic cleric or priest. This is true to some extent - However, in Iran the term "Emam" is also used for the successors following the Prophet Mohammad (PbuH) and they're all from the tribe of Hazrat-e Mohammad (PbuH), the Quraish. One can compare them to the saints of Christianity. Their mauseleums in Iran and Iraq, built by Persians, are extremely elaborate, and therefore some foreign tourists who mistakenly think that these Emams were just mere Muslim clerics are at first quite surprised and puzzled over the fact that their shrines are so spectacular. You can read more about the twelve Emams of the Velayat here: http://home.swipnet.se/~w-35053/twelve.htm
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North Africa/Middle East
