Mawlawi (Arabic: مولوي, romanized: Mawlawī), is an Islamic religious title given to Muslim religious scholars, or ulama, preceding their names, similar to the titles Mawlānā, Mullah, or Sheikh.
Mawlawi generally means a highly qualified Islamic scholar, usually one who has completed full studies in a madrasa (Islamic school) or darul uloom (Islamic seminary).
Turkish Mawlawi fraternity of Sufis (Muslim mystics) was founded in Konya (Qonya), Anatolia, by the Persian Sufi poet Jalal ad-Din ar-Rumi (d. 1273), whose popular title mawlana (Arabic for "our master") gave the order its name.
[1] Although the words Maulvi, Molvi and Maulana are interchangeable in the Indian subcontinent as a title of respect, Maulana is more often associated with formal qualification following study at a madrasa or darul uloom whereas Maulvi is usually more a general title for religious figures.
In the Pakistani and Central Asian context, where Mullah does not carry a formal meaning, "Maulana" or "Maulvi" is often the word of choice for addressing or referring to respected Muslim religious scholars (ulama).