Definition of "ulama"

There he […] became disillusioned with much of the Islamic clerical establishment, and first expressed his contempt for what he called ‘religious secularists’, those foolish ulama who attempt to separate politics from religion.

2000, Zadie Smith, White Teeth, London: Penguin Books, published 2001, page 469

There is a bird in Ceylon, which the natives call ulama, or the demon bird, which utters most loud and ear-piercing screams, strongly resembling the shrieks of a human being in severe bodily agony.

1849 June, The Dublin University Magazine, page 692