ule·ma /ˌuləˈmɑ/



 U·le·ma n.  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.

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 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]