Ulema

Ulema (Arabic, plur. of 'ālim, 'learned' or 'wise'), the collective name (which cannot be used as a singular) of the body of professional theologians and doctors of divinity, and therefore of law, in any Mohammedan country. They form the legal and judicial class, and interpret the Koran and the law derived therefrom; they also constitute whatever there is of the nature of a hierarchy in Islam, and their power and influence have often curbed the irresponsible authority of a despot. There are necessarily Ulema in every Mohammedan city, but the most renowned are the Ulema of Constantinople, of Mecca, and of the Azhar university at Cairo. The Ulema of Turkey are the best organised, and possess many privileges and immunities. They include (apart from the softas, who are a species of undergraduates training for the rank of Ulema) the imāms or readers of the public prayers at the mosques; the muftis or doctors of the law, who act partly as barristers, partly as assessors in the courts; and the kādis or mollas, who are the regular magistrates, and are under the authority of two chief-justices, the kādi asker of Europe and of Asia; whilst over them all stands the Grand Mufti or Skeykh-el-Islām, the spiritual head (under the Caliph) of orthodox Mohammedanism and supreme judge of the Ottoman empire. The verdicts or decisions of the Ulema are called fatwas. The Ulema form the ultra-conservative party in all Mohammedan countries; their interpretations of the Koran, when honest, are rigidly and pedantically in accordance with established tradition, but as individuals they are far from incorruptible. To them more than to any other class is due the lifeless formalism that generally prevails in Mohammedan countries, and they are the prime movers in all outbreaks of fanaticism.