Middle East
The true spiritual leader of Iran is Rumi
Iran's officially recognised "spiritual leader" today may be Ayatollah Khamenei, but for hundreds of years before the current establishment of mullahs and ayatollahs, Iranians of all creeds have looked to another spiritual leader: Jalal ad-Din Rumi. While this 13th-century Persian Sufi poet is known in much of the west as "Rumi", he is referred to more affectionately in Iran as "Mowlaana," or the Master.