Bible Encyclopedias
Mollah

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

(Arab. maula, Turk. meula, i.e., ruler) is the name of a Turkish superior judge, who is an expounder of civil and criminal law, and of the religion of the state; he is therefore, necessarily both a lawyer and an ecclesiastic. Under him is the cadi or judge, who administers the law, and superior to him are: the kadhiasker and the mufti (q.v.). They all are, however, subject to the Sheik al-Islam, or supreme mufti. In Persia, the office of mollah is similar to what it is in Turkey; but his superior there is the "sadr," or chief of the mollahs. In the states of Turkestan, the mollahs have the whole government in their hands. (See MULLAH).

Bibliography Information
McClintock, John. Strong, James. Entry for 'Mollah'. Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature. https://www.studylight.org/​encyclopedias/​eng/​tce/​m/mollah.html. Harper & Brothers. New York. 1870.