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Concept
Mawlānā
Summary
Mawlānā (mɔːˈlɑːnə; from Arabic (مولانا), also spelled as maulana or molana (Urdu, from Arabic mawlānā), is a title, mostly in Central Asia and in the Indian subcontinent, preceding the name of respected Muslim religious leaders, in particular graduates of religious institutions, e.g. a madrassa or a darul uloom, or scholars who have studied under other Islamic scholars.
Although the word is derived from the Arabic word mawla, it adopted different meanings as it travelled from Arabia to Persia, Turkey, Africa and the Indian subcontinent.
In Iran and Turkey the word normally refers to Rumi (Persian pronunciation Mowlana) (Turkish pronunciation Mevlana).
In Indian countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh in different Muslim languages like Urdu, Sylheti, Bangla. Mawlana (মাওলানা) in Bangla and Molana (ꠝꠟꠣꠘꠣ/مولانا) in Urdu & Sylheti presents the leaders or scholars of Islam. Also presents Religious School Teachers.
This word has been borrowed into the Swahili language, where it is used also as a title of respect for revered members of a community, religious or secular, roughly equivalent to the English "Sir".
In the mostly Muslim region of West Africa, the root has been proposed as a source for the words Mallam (Hausa language) and Maame (Wolof language), which are used to denote Islamic scholars, or in areas practising folk Islam or folk magic, a local shaman. Among the Hausas the word Mallam is additionally used as equivalent of English Mr. A more likely explanation for this word (and for the Swahili mwalimu) is the Arabic word mu'allim (معلم), which in Moroccan Arabic is pronounced "m'allam" and means 'teacher' or 'master' in a Qur'anic school.
In the Central Asian and South Asian / Indian subcontinent context, where "Mullah" does not carry a formal sense, Maulana is often the word of choice for addressing or referring to Muslim religious scholars that are respected, while Mullah is used often derogatorily for people the speaker considers to be more rabble-rousers than scholars.
Official source
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