Mullah, << MUHL uh or MUL uh, >> is the honorary title given to an Islamic religious figure. The word is also spelled mulla. The title is generally attached to religious leaders; teachers in religious schools; scholars in Islamic law; men called imams, who lead prayers in mosques; and men who recite from the Qur’an, the Islamic holy book. Generally, a mullah receives training in an Islamic religious college called a madrasah.
The term mullah is a Persian word that means lord or master. The word appears in its Arabic form, al-mawla, in the Qur’an as a reference to Allah, the Arabic name for God. At one time, it was added to the names of former slaves, to identify them as inferior. After the Prophet Muhammad preached the religion of Islam in the A.D. 600’s, converts were referred to as mullahs. Today, especially in Iran, the term is sometimes applied to an entire class of religious men who represent traditional interpretations of Islam.
