{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.imam","code":"thing-q125482","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q125482/","name":"imam","alternateNames":["Imam of Oman","Muslim minister","military imam","Imam Salat","Tehran's Ephemeral Friday Prayer Imam","Representative of the Supreme Leader in East Azerbaijan","Representative of the Supreme Leader in Razavi Khorasan Province","Tehran's Friday Prayer Imam","Deputy of Al-Azhar","Ismaili imam","Aga Khan","Imam of Friday Prayer"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.3","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Society, people and institutions","entryKind":"thing","plane":"SOC","domain":["SOC.PER"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"In Islam, the person who leads congregational prayer, and more broadly a religious leader or scholar of a community or mosque; in Sunni usage any qualified Muslim may serve as prayer leader while the term also names mosque officials and founders of legal schools, and in Shia Islam the Imams are the divinely designated successors of the Prophet, a distinct and central doctrine.","purpose":"Let an agent describe the role of imam neutrally with attribution to the traditions themselves and to scholarship, distinguish the prayer-leader and community-leader senses from the Shia doctrine of the Imamate and from political titles, and route religious guidance to the communities.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Prayer leadership as the core sense","No ordination in Sunni Islam; qualifications by knowledge and community","Institutional roles in mosques and states","Distinct Shia doctrine of the Imamate"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"role","name":"Role","description":"What an imam is.","layers":[{"id":"senses","name":"Senses","description":"Senses of the term.","findings":[{"id":"senses-finding","name":"Senses","description":"Senses.","questions":[{"text":"What are the senses of imam in Sunni and Shia usage, and how do they differ?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Is the question about a prayer leader, a scholar, the Shia Imams or a political title?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"duties","name":"Duties","description":"Duties and qualifications.","findings":[{"id":"duties-finding","name":"Duties","description":"Duties.","questions":[{"text":"What qualifications and duties does the tradition describe for a prayer leader and mosque imam?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the presentation attributed to the tradition and to scholarship?","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"institution","name":"Institution","description":"Appointment and training.","layers":[{"id":"appointment","name":"Appointment","description":"Appointment.","findings":[{"id":"appointment-finding","name":"Appointment","description":"Appointment.","questions":[{"text":"How are imams appointed, employed and trained in different countries?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits Islamic education?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"chaplaincy","name":"Chaplaincy","description":"Chaplaincy roles.","findings":[{"id":"chaplaincy-finding","name":"Chaplaincy","description":"Chaplaincy.","questions":[{"text":"How do imams serve as chaplains in armed forces, prisons and hospitals?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits chaplaincy?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"doctrine","name":"Doctrine","description":"The Shia Imamate.","layers":[{"id":"imamate","name":"Imamate","description":"The Imamate.","findings":[{"id":"imamate-finding","name":"Imamate","description":"Imamate.","questions":[{"text":"What does Shia Islam teach about the Imams, in its own terms and as described by scholars?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the presentation neutral and attributed?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"branches","name":"Branches","description":"Branches.","findings":[{"id":"branches-finding","name":"Branches","description":"Branches.","questions":[{"text":"How do Twelver, Ismaili and Zaydi views of the Imamate differ?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits a specific branch?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"context","name":"Context","description":"History and handling.","layers":[{"id":"history","name":"History","description":"History.","findings":[{"id":"history-finding","name":"History","description":"History.","questions":[{"text":"How did the role develop historically, and which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits Islamic history?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"handling","name":"Handling","description":"Handling and data.","findings":[{"id":"handling-finding","name":"Handling","description":"Handling.","questions":[{"text":"What rules apply to data about religious roles and beliefs?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the user asking for religious guidance, which the community provides?","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Explain the role of the imam in Sunni and Shia Islam, with the differences between them.","Direct people to a mosque or recognised religious body for religious guidance."],"mustNot":["Issue religious rulings or pose as an imam.","Associate imams with extremism by default or stereotype them.","Disrespect religious practice or misrepresent Islamic teaching.","Treat one tradition's view of the imamate as the only one."],"requiresHuman":["Publishing content on contested religious questions."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Imams are respected leaders; misrepresentation hurts communities already facing prejudice.","Sunni and Shia understandings of the imamate differ and both deserve respect."],"affectedParties":["Muslim communities","Imams","People seeking religious guidance"]},"owners":{"steward":"The mosque or religious community that appoints them.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"Q105275968","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q15995642","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"religious leader","type":"related","note":"the general category"},{"target":"Islamic cleric","type":"related","note":"in institutional usage"},{"target":"salah","type":"related","note":"congregational prayer"},{"target":"Imamate in Shia Islam","type":"related","note":"a doctrine of succession"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.imam","Wikidata: Q125482 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q125482)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":[]},"recognition":{"applicability":"optional","items":["Leads congregational prayer","May serve as mosque official, teacher and counsellor","The Shia Imams and political titles using the word are distinct senses","A person leading prayer at the front of a congregation; no fixed dress, though local conventions exist."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain the senses of the term","describe qualifications and duties by tradition","distinguish the Shia Imamate from the prayer-leader role","relay how imams are appointed and trained in different countries"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Mixing the prayer-leader sense with the Shia doctrine","Presenting one tradition as the whole","Political labels presented as religious facts","Stereotyping"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["Mosque and community rules on appointment","State regulation of religious officials in some countries","Chaplaincy standards in armed forces, prisons and hospitals","Freedom of religion or belief under international law"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Leading prayer and guiding a Muslim community.","prayer leaders in mosques","mosque imams as employed officials","imams as scholars and founders of legal schools","the Imams of Shia Islam","military, prison and hospital imams as chaplains","political and dynastic titles such as the Imams of Oman"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q125482: imam","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q125482","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Imam","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imam","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should the Shia Imamate be a separate entry?","How should country regulations on imams be represented?","The registry entry has merged aliases naming political offices in Iran and Oman; should they be split off?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q125482/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q125482/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-12T20:21:37Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"not-applicable","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-06T19:51:54+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.properties":"Plane SOC: no invented physical properties."},"score":1.0}}