The village imam or hoca always receives a minimum amount of deference and politeness because of his office. Formally he is required to hold a licence from the Mufti of the province, appointed by the Presidency of Religious Affairs, a department of government directly under the Prime Minister. When he is acting in his religious capacity, conspicuously at Friday prayers, he leads the whole village and all must listen to his words. On less formal occasions he is welcome as an honoured guest in guest rooms in the evenings, and normally encouraged to discourse on a religious theme or tell a religious story. Nevertheless his office does not automatically confer influence or personal prestige. His own personal learning and piety, and his character are the main determinants of his standing.
In Elbashï and Sakaltutan, during the years I knew these villages, a new imam was appointed each year, and none of them was satisfactory to the villagers, nor highly regarded. The men appointed were ordinary villagers from local villages, not conspicuously more learned than the rest. Their objective in seeking office seems to have been the attached income.
Other villages had different arrangements. In Kanber the imam was permanent, a local man with his own land, and apparently of some weight in the village. In Kölete, on the other hand, the imam was also permanent, but was a landless immigrant and of little account. Çevlik had a young man of Sakaltutan as its imam who remained in office for several years. In Alishar, according to Morrison (1938, Chaps. II and IV), the largest landowner was the son and heir of a man who had arrived in the village as a stranger and remained as permanent imam.
In every village there are a number of men who can read the Arabic script, and are able to intone, though not to understand,