"The Palestinian religious leader" - the English language is a great one for ambiguity isn't it?

That expression there could be read as meaning "this is the local equivalent of Ayatollah Khomneini, or the Pope - the man in charge. What he says carries a lot of weight"; or it could equally mean something a lot less impressive (and less threatening), as with "Nick Griffin, the English political leader" (well, he is the leader of an English political party after all...)