mullah

Mullah () is an honorific title for Muslim clergy and Imams. The term is widely used in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh, and is also used for a man who has a higher education in Islamic theology and Sharia. The title has also been used in some Mizrahi, Iranian (Persian), Afghan, Bukharian, Kaifeng, and Sephardic Jewish communities in reference to the community's leadership, especially its religious leadership. Since the 1980s, the term has developed to have a pejorative connotation in certain contexts, especially in India.