Mirwaiz

See also: Mir (title) and Mir (clan)

Mirwaiz (Urdu: میر واعظ; from Persian mir 'chief' and waiz 'preacher') is a hereditary religious title for the chief cleric or head preacher of the Muslim community in the Kashmir Valley. The title unique to Kashmir, traditionally involved providing religious instructions and leading sermons in major shrines and mosques. Over time, the holders of the title also assumed social, cultural and political roles within Kashmiri society.

The title Mirwaiz of Kashmir is presently held by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who succeeded his father, Mirwaiz Mohammad Farooq, in 1990.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.