MULLAH

Arabic Mawla, or Mawlay (protector), French Mulay, or Moulay, a Muslim title generally denoting lord; it is used in various parts of the Islamic world as an honorific attached to the name of a king, sultan, or other noble (as in Morocco and other parts of North Africa) or of a scholar or religious leader (as in parts of the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent). The term appears in the Qur'an in reference to Allah, the Lord or Master, and thus came to be applied to earthly lords to whom religious sanctity was attributed. The most common application of the title mullah is to religious leaders, teachers in religious schools, those versed in the canon law, leaders of prayer in the mosques (imams), or reciters of the Qur'an (qurra'). There are no formal requirements for acquisition of the title, but normally persons called by it have had some training in a madrasah, or religious school. The word is often used to designate the entire class that upholds the traditional interpretation of Islam.