ʿIlm al-Kalām (Arabic: عِلْم الكَلام‎, literally "science of discourse"), usually foreshortened to Kalām and sometimes called "Islamic scholastic theology", is the study of Islamic doctrine ('aqa'id). It was born out of the need to establish and defend the tenets of Islamic faith against doubters and detractors. A scholar of Kalām is referred to as a mutakallim (plural: mutakallimūn), and it is a role distinguished from those of Islamic philosophers, jurists, and scientists.