Mullah

[1] The term is widely used in Iran and Afghanistan and is also used for a person who has higher education in Islamic theology and sharia law.

In Kaifeng, China, the historic Chinese Jews who managed the synagogue were called "mullahs".

[6] In Iran,[7] 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.

Uneducated villagers may frequently classify a literate Muslim with a less than complete Islamic training as their "mullah" or religious cleric.

Three kinds of knowledge are applied most frequently in interpreting Islamic texts (i.e. the Quran, hadiths, etc.)