Mullah

Mullah (/ˈmʌlə, ˈmʊlə, ˈmuːlə/; Arabic: ملا‎, Kurdish: Melle‎, Persian: ملا‎‎, Turkish: Molla) is derived from the Quranic term Mawla. However, used ambiguously in the Quran, some publishers have described its usage as a religious title as inappropriate. The term is sometimes applied to a Muslim man or woman, educated in Islamic theology and sacred law. The title is derived from the Arabic word مَوْلَى mawlā, meaning "vicar," "master" and "guardian." In large parts of the Muslim world, particularly Iran, Kurdistan, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Eastern Arabia, Turkey and the Balkans, Central Asia, the Horn of Africa and South Asia, it is the name commonly given to local Islamic clerics or mosque leaders.

The title has also been used in some Sephardic Jewish communities to refer to the community's leadership, especially religious leadership.

The term mullah is primarily understood in the Muslim world as a term of respect for an educated religious man.

Training and duties

Ideally, a trained mullah will have studied Islamic traditions (hadith), and Islamic law (fiqh). Such figures often have memorized the Qur'an. Uneducated villagers may frequently classify a literate Muslim with a less than complete Islamic training as their "mullah" or religious cleric. Mullahs with varying levels of training lead prayers in mosques, deliver religious sermons, and perform religious ceremonies such as birth rites and funeral services. They also often teach in a type of Islamic school known as a madrasah. Three kinds of knowledge are applied most frequently in interpreting Islamic texts (i.e. the Quran, Hadiths, etc.) for matters of Shariah, i.e., Islamic law.