Mollah
Webster's Dictionary [1]
(n.) One of the higher order of Turkish judges; also, a Turkish title of respect for a religious and learned man.
Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature [2]
(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).
The Nuttall Encyclopedia [3]
A judge of the highest rank among the Turks on matters of law, both civil and sacred.
