Мулла: происхождение, значение и современное употребление

Title commonly given to local Islamic clerics or mosque leaders

Mullah ('/m//ʌ//l//ə//, /'/m//ʊ//l//ə//, /'/m//uː//l//ə/; ملا) is an honorific title for Muslim clergy and it is also an honorific title for a Muslim mosque leader. The term is also sometimes used for a person who has higher education in Islamic theology and sharia law. The title has also been used in some Mizrahi and Sephardic Jewish communities in reference to the community's leadership, especially its religious leadership.

The word mullah is derived from the Persian word mullā (ملا‎), itself being borrowed from Arabic word mawlā (مَوْلَى), meaning "master" and "guardian", with mutation of the initial short vowels.

It is the term commonly used for village or neighborhood mosque leaders, who may not have high levels of religious education, in large parts of the Muslim world, particularly Iran, Turkey, Caucasus, Central Asia, West Asia, South Asia, Eastern Arabia, the Balkans and the Horn of Africa. In other regions a different term may be used, such as imam in the Maghreb. Someone who goes on to complete postgraduate religious education receives the higher title of Mawlawi. Mullah and its variation mulla have also degenerated into a derogatory term for a Muslim priest that connotes a semiliterate, backward, often bigoted village imam. In Iran, until the early 20th century, the term mullah was used in Iranian seminaries to refer to low level clergy who specialized in telling stories of Ashura, rather than teaching or issuing fatwas. However, in recent years, among Shia clerics, the term ruhani (spiritual) has been promoted as an alternative to mullah and akhoond, free of pejorative connotations.

The dress of a Mullah usually consists of a turban (عمامه ), a long coat with sleeves and buttons, similar to a cassock (قبا ), and a long gown or cloak, open at the front (عبا ). The aba is usually made either of brown wool or of black muslin. It is sleeveless but has holes through which the arms may be inserted. The turban is usually white, but those who claim descent from Muhammad traditionally wear a black turban.