I have tried to find some authority is Islamic tradition that sactify today’s wide-spread muslim clergy but failed. My thinking is that there is no room in Islam for the kind of moulvis that occupy mosques and lead prayers there; and earn their livlihood from that profession. The concept of leading the namaz as imam is that when at the time of salat muslims of a community will get together, better one of them will lead the prayer on the basis of taqwa and acceptance of his role by the fellow muslims. But that’s for one namaz, very next namaz in the same msjid a different person may be leading the faithfuls in their worship. after salat they will disperse in Allah’s land to persue their professions. Imam will get no remuniration for leading the prayer.
In shia Islam I know there is well defined clergy and that’s why our shia brotern send their brightest kids to be trained as clergymen. But in sunni islam I very doubt about the religious authority that would santify our moulvis with all their ignorance to lead us offer our namaz. I know that many of them would qualify to lead namaz but a great majorityof them wouldn’t. Yet that doesn’t mean that any one leading the prayer would get remuneration for worship.
Just confused; May be some one of you would shed light on some sources of knowledge I haven’t been able to access.