ULEMA, the collective name (which cannot be used as a singular) of the body of professional theologians and doctors of divinity, and therefore of law, in any Mohammedan country. They form the legal and judicial class, and interpret the Koran and the law derived there from; they also constitute whatever there is of the nature of a hierarchy in Islam, and their power and influence have often curbed the irresponsible authority of a despot. There are necessarily ulema in every Mohammedan city, but the most re nowned are the ulema of Constantinople, of Mecca, and of the Azhar university at Cairo. The ulema of Turkey are the best organized, and possess many privileges and immunities. They include (apart from the "softas," who are a species of undergraduates training for the rank of ulema) the "imams" or readers of the public prayers at the mosques; the "muf tis" or doctors of the law, who act partly as barristers, partly as assessors in the courts; and the "kadis" or "mollas," who are the regular magistrates, and are under the authority of two chief-justices, the "kadiasker" of Europe and of Asia; while over them all stands the grand mufti or "Sheik-ul-Islam," the spiritual head (under the Caliph) of orthodox Mo hammedanism and supreme judge of the Ottoman empire. The verdicts or deci
sions of the ulema are called "fetvas." The ulema form the ultra-conservative party in all Mohammedan countries; their interpretations of the Koran, when honest, are rigidly and pedantically in ac cordance with established tradition, but as individuals they are far from incor ruptible. To them is due the lifeless formalism that prevails in Mohammedan countries, and they are the prime movers in all outbreaks of fanaticism.