pl. of 'alim, "one who knows".
The title for the reglious scholars of Islam.
"Maa ra'ahul-muslimoon hasanan fahua 'ind-Allahi hassan wa maa ra'ahul-muslimoon qabeehan fahua 'ind-Allahi qabeeh." : "Whatever the majority of Muslims see as right, then this is good to Allah, and whatever is seen by the majority of Muslims as wrong, it is wrong to Allah."
For details on the religious hierarchy and power house of Islam, see Samuel Zwemer's Heirs of the Prophet.