Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Consultation, especially as a principle of governance.
  • noun An advisory council or assembly.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Islam A body that provides counsel to a leader

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Arabic šūrā, consultation, from šāwara, to consult; see śwr in Semitic roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Arabic شورى ("consultation")

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Examples

  • The term shura, as such, is to be distinguished from the term istisharah, which means one side seeking counsel from another, and from the term tashawur, which means mutual consultation but on a lesser scale than that envisioned in shura as a nationwide participatory political exercise.

    Archive 2006-03-01 2006

  • Mr. Omar, who heads a Taliban leadership council called the Quetta "shura" -- named after the city in southeast Pakistan where it is believed to be based -- has typically focused on choosing Taliban leaders and funneling money, religious guidance and strategic advice to fighters.

    Taliban Chief Extends Control Over Insurgency 2009

  • Afghan officials called another shura late last month.

    Learning a Hard History Lesson in 'Talibanistan' 2009

  • The first, Mullah Berader, is a longtime senior Taliban leader who sits on the Quetta shura, which is believed to have about 20 members.

    Taliban Chief Extends Control Over Insurgency 2009

  • U.S. and Afghan officials then invited village elders to Karezgay for a meeting, called a shura, to discuss the plans.

    Learning a Hard History Lesson in 'Talibanistan' 2009

  • We have learned, according to a source inside of Kandahar, that a meeting called a shura, a meeting of tribal elders of a Pashtun tribe called the Norzai met together last night and had decided that one of Mullah Mohammed Omar -- the spiritual leader of the Taliban -- one of Mullah Omar's deputies would become the chief administrator of the city of Kandahar.

    CNN Transcript Nov 17, 2001 2001

  • The Islamic word "shura" does not translate into the English word "democracy" as the AP and the American Politicians seem to think....

    Yahoo! News: Business - Opinion 2011

  • At the first tribal gathering which is known as a shura, one tribal elder after another stood up, speaking loudly, angrily, some shouting at the president, complaining of police corruption, official bribes and insecurity, our correspondent says.

    BBC - Ouch 2010

  • At the first tribal gathering which is known as a shura, one tribal elder after another stood up, speaking loudly, angrily, some shouting at the president, complaining of police corruption, official bribes and insecurity, our correspondent says.

    BBC - Ouch 2010

  • At the first tribal gathering which is known as a shura, one tribal elder after another stood up, speaking loudly, angrily, some shouting at the president, complaining of police corruption, official bribes and insecurity, our correspondent says.

    BBC - Ouch 2010

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  • "To keep the rest of the government informed, and to avoid turf battles, in June Holbrooke and Lieutenant General Doug Lute, the President's adviser on Afghanistan and Pakistan, started a weekly Monday-evening meeting at the State Department for all the relevant agencies. Lute called it the 'shura.'"

    - "The Last Mission" by George Packer, The New Yorker, September 28, 2009, p 47

    September 28, 2009