1.
[syn: ulema, ulama]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
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]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
ulema
n 1: 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: ulema, ulama]