Ulema

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Ulema \U`le*ma"\, n. [Turk. & Ar. 'ulam[=a] the wise or learned
     men, pl. of '[=a]lim wise, learned, fr. alima to know.]
     (Islam)
     A college or body composed of the hierarchy (the imams, or
     ministers of religion, the muftis, or doctors of law, and the
     cadis, or administrators of justice). That of Turkey alone


     now has political power; its head is the sheik ul Islam.
  
     Note: This definition was written ca. 1900. The government of
           Turkey in 1998 is exclusively secular, whereas Iran in
           2001 is dominated by Moslem clergy.
           [Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  ulema
       n : the body of mullahs (Muslim scholars trained in Islam and
           Islamic law) who are the interpreters of Islam's sciences
           and doctrines and laws and the chief guarantors of
           continuity in the spiritual and intellectual history of
           the Islamic community [syn: {ulama}]